Long ago, a dwarf named Durgeddin Stonehammer, also known as Durgeddin the Black, had led his people into the caverns beneath the Stone Tooth and carved out a fortress and forge deep in the earth called Khundrukar…

Durgeddin’s folk were survivors of raids by the orc horde called Many Arrows. Durgeddin’s hatred of the orcs knew no bounds, so he led his people in creating weapons of great power and malice that were given and sold to the enemies of the orcs. After years of searching for Durgeddin and his forge, the orcs finally found the hidden stronghold. The orcs laid siege for many months, and the dwarven defenders fought valiantly. But at last the orcs discovered a way into the fortress and slew all who lived within. They carried away all the wealth that they could find, but legend has it that the deepest levels of the dungeon – Durgeddin’s secret forge – remained hidden to the orcs and still held weapons and treasure left by the dwarves.

Hearing these legends, four heroes traveled to Blasingdell, the town nearest to the Stone Tooth. Losdir, an elven fighter and a sage who was writing the Tome of Battle, hoped to learn of the martial history of the dwarves to add a chapter to his book. Saladin, a half-elf bard and swordsman who studied under Losdir in an elven academy devoted to magic and warfare, accompanied his master on his journey. Ivel, a half-elf wild-sorcerer and warlock of a Great Old One, felt a voice calling to him from the dungeons of Khundrukar. He had met Losdir and Saladin while traveling towards the Stone Tooth and joined their company, finding few others of elvenkind in these northern lands. To guard themselves against the dangers upon the road, they hired a man named Haruld, a fearsome barbarian and mercenary who swore upon his life to defend his wards.

The party arrived at the town of Blasingdell, the settlement nearest to the Stone Tooth. Here, Ivel began to proselytize to the people of Blasingdell about the worship of the Great Old One, whom he referred to simply as The One. The locals thought he was referring to their one god of war, the mighty Tempus, and waved their swords in the air. Thereafter, the townspeople called Ivel and his companions the Followers of the One.

Meanwhile, the other members of the party heard rumors that a band of orcs had taken up residence in the ruins beneath the mountain. The local captain of the town guardsmen and her half-orc sergeant were busy training the young men in town outside the Temple of Tempus, God of Warfare. The heroes stayed but briefly in Blasingdell before traveling on to the Stone Tooth to investigate, along with the half-orc sergeant who offered to be their guide.

At the Stone Tooth, the party saw a column of smoke rising in the distance. Investigating its source, they found a crevice that led deep into the earth. Climbing down the passage, they discovered that it was a chimney leading into a chamber. The ancient walls looked to have been carved by dwarven stone wrights, but it was now converted into a crude and foul kitchen. In a nearby chamber, they discovered local townspeople who were held prisoner. The adventurers freed them and instructed them to escape through the chimney.

The party proceeded to venture quietly into the deeper recesses of the dungeon. Through twisting hallways, they came upon a passage that was blocked by crates and supplies. The party tried to clear the way by burning it with magical fire, and then put out the flames using magical water, causing a great deal of smoke and steam to be sent through the halls in the process. Beyond the barricade, they discovered a door that was sealed tight, its crevices blocked off with straw and hay. Fearful and suspicious of what lay beyond, they turned back the way they had come and ventured elsewhere.

Down another corridor, they came upon a closed door. The hushed voices of orcs could be heard in the room beyond. The party kicked down the door and ambushed the occupants. They were a band of orcs, four altogether, who were gambling with the loot they had plundered on their most recent raid. The party slew the orcs, but their screams rang in the hallways. Thunderous footsteps were heard through the darkness, and down the hallway from whence they came, the party discerned a huge shadow, flanked on either side by smaller shadows with fearsome glinting eyes, growing bigger and lumbering towards them.

 

 

 

2.

Ulfe, an ogre and the leader of the orcs of the Stonetooth, was roused from his rest when he noticed smoke and steam coming from the corridor. Then he heard a great scream coming from the same direction. Rising from his pallet and calling upon his two dire wolves, he emerged from his chamber and summoned the orcs in the next room. With his wolves, a posse of orcs and their orog sergeant in tow, Ulfe headed down the hallway to investigate. He found that a party of adventurers, a human and four elves, had invaded his lair and killed several of his minions.

Losdir ran down the corridor to create a distraction and told his young companions to flee, luring one of the wolves toward him. But our heroes stood their ground, and Haruld the barbarian strove mightily with the ogre before him. Four times he was struck down by the ogre’s powerful blows, and four times he rose up once more, brought back from the brink of death by Saladin’s elven magic. At last, Ulfe was brought low and laid slain upon the stone floor along with one of his wolves, but the orcs proved to be too numerous. Ivel, in desperation, called upon the Great Old One for deliverance and summoned the power of his wild magic, but the otherworldly powers transformed him into a sheep. Soon after, the orcs overwhelmed the party.

As darkness overtook them, Haruld dreamt of a great battle in the heavens where he fought alongside Tempus against the fiendish hordes of Gruumsh One-eye. In his dream, Haruld thrust his spear at Gruumsh’s eye and pierced it, but the Orc-god laughed and pulled the spear from his bleeding socket. Then Haruld saw to his horror that the remaining eye closed and the dead eye opened instead, and standing before him was an Eye of Gruumsh, one of the vicious orc shamans that plucked out their own eye in worship of their fearsome deity. Haruld realized that he was no longer asleep but awake, and he was chained to the wall inside a dungeon cell. His companions were held captive beside him. Before them stood the Eye of Gruumsh and her minions, holding the remaining wolf which was growling at the end of a chain leash.

The Eye of Gruumsh offered to spare the party if they would complete a task. She wanted them to venture into the depths of Khundrukar and find a great weapon worthy of the orc horde. Her dream was to retrieve the greatest weapon in the dungeon and use it in the next war to return the orc kingdom of Many Arrows to its former glory. She would release three of the party – Haruld, Saladin, and Ivel – and hold the life of Losdir for ransom. The party reluctantly agreed and were thrust into the hall beyond the sealed door, where they discovered a stone stairway leading deeper to the lower level.

Venturing down the stairs, the party was attacked by numerous swarms of stirges. The bloodsucking creatures assailed them at every turn, but they pushed on, delving deeper into the lower level of Khundrukar. Below, they discovered the Glitterhame, a complex of natural tunnels whose walls were covered with glittering veins of crystals and minerals, and whose floors were covered with glowing fungi of strange shapes and hues.

Resting for a while within these depths, Saladin sang a song of wonder, being amazed by the peculiar natural environment. His song seemed to be taken up by ghostly voices, and soon strange apparitions began to appear. They were visions of dwarven smiths and stone wrights, carrying their tools as they marched through a passage. The adventurers followed the spirits and found themselves in a large chamber with an open ledge, filled with sarcophagi carved in the dread likeness of dwarven warriors. The ghostly apparitions approached the tombs and seemed to be working upon them with their tools. Beyond the ledge, they saw the largest cavern yet, so vast that its outermost walls could not be seen, but the glowing veins of mineral ore and crystals upon them looked like the vast, breathtaking cosmos in the night sky.

Returning to the passage from whence they came, our heroes explored the passages of the Glitterhame in greater detail. They came to a tiny passage, too small to walk through, but they found that they could crawl through the opening instead. On the other side of the passage, they were ambushed by a tribe of foul troglodytes who had heard their passage through the tunnels and laid in wait for them. Ivel attempted to speak to the creatures, but it was to little avail. Hunger alone drove them, and they had found succulent prey. They pounced upon Ivel and brought him down, being fully set on devouring him. And more such terrible creatures were emerging from deeper within the cavern.

 

 

 

3.

Saladin and Haruld rushed to Ivel’s side, determined to save him. But the troglodytes were too numerous, and they had brought a gigantic lizard held by a leash. It was then that Haruld, seeing the danger to his companions, sacrificed himself so that they might escape. Throwing himself into the fray, he shouted at his friends to flee. Haruld raised up his greatsword and felled many a foe, but at last they overwhelmed him. As Saladin dragged Ivel to safety, he heard the hideous sound of flesh being torn from bone as the monstrous beings had their feast.

Saladin continued down a flight of spiral stairs with Ivel in tow. At the base of the stairway, he finally caught his breath and mourned the loss of his brave companion. But a moment later, a most peculiar sight appeared before him. From out of nowhere, there came a bright flash of light, and then there stood before him his master Losdir accompanied by a strange creature made of wood, stone, and steel plates. How had Losdir escaped and appeared in his place? And who was his mysterious companion who seemed not at all like a being of flesh but a man made of metal?

Losdir’s tale, after his companions had departed, was as follows. While he contemplated a way to escape, he listened to his captors outside the door. The Eye of Gruumsh seemed determined to bring up a weapon from the depths of Khundrukar, but strangely she spoke of an offering that had to be given to the weapon itself. She seemed to speak of the weapon as though it were a sentient being. Then Losdir recalled his own brief adventure in these northern lands which happened long ago. Once, he had accompanied another group of adventurers in their expedition through a warren held by a tribe of kobolds. They appeared to be worshippers of a dragon that supposedly dwelled in the subterranean realm deep beneath the Stone Tooth. Losdir wondered if there might be a connection between the kobolds that he had faced and these orcs who were searching for a mighty weapon.

While he was deep in thought, there suddenly came a bright flash of light, and before him stood the being made of metal. It carried only a spear and wore a simple robe over its body of stone and steel plates. Losdir wondered if it was some sort of golem left behind by the dwarves as a guardian. But the metal being, as if reading Losdir’s thoughts, seemed to reply telepathically in Losdir’s mind, “No, I am no dwarven-made machine. I am Jackie.”

The being calling itself Jackie had traveled between the planes and found itself in a new and unfamiliar world. Jackie decided that Losdir seemed like a knowledgeable individual who might serve well as a guide and freed him from his bonds. Then using his psychic abilities to travel through space, he teleported himself and his new companion into the lower level of the dungeon, where they reunited with Losdir’s surviving friends. The party had regrouped at last, and together they mourned the loss of one of their own even as they greeted the arrival of a new companion.

Together, the adventurers delved deeper into the caverns, fearing to return to the passages above where the troglodytes dwelled. They discovered ancient storerooms that were either ransacked or filled with spoiled and rotten food stores which had been abandoned long ago. Some were filled with foul, stagnant water that must have flowed inside when the water had risen but could not find a place to drain away. Elsewhere, they followed a river upstream and saw a large stalagmite rising from the ground on the far side of the water. On the near side of the river, a fish floundered on the bank, gasping for air.

Ivel felt drawn to the stalagmite, believing it to be a tentacle-shaped altar to the Great Old One whom he worshipped. He was not far off the mark, for the stone mound began to move and long tendrils rose up from within its stony carapace. It was a dreaded subterranean roper, and it ambushed the adventurers, dragging them into the river to drown them. Our heroes struggled fiercely against the monstrous aberration, and nearly succumbed to its attacks. But Jackie dealt the killing blow with a psychic attack, causing the roper to explode in a rain of stony flesh and foul dripping guts.

The battle was not without consequence. Ivel had nearly been slain in the encounter, and though he was just barely revived by Losdir’s healing arts, he awoke confused and crazed. When he was unconscious, he dreamt that he was inside a cocoon of tendrils and tentacles, and when it opened he had emerged in a new shape. Believing that he was being called by the Great Old One, he drew out his knife and thrust it into his own chest as if to carved through the cocoon. Then his body withered and cracked like a dry shell of subterranean chitin, and from the gaping wound made by the knife there stepped out a halfling, all covered in slime like a newborn babe. In a bright voice, the halfling named himself Ivel and greeted his companions.

Our heroes took a moment to catch their breath and take in the strange sight that unfolded before them, then continued. Climbing up a short flight of stairs, they came to a rusted iron door. Finding no key to open it, Ivel drew out a box of thieves’ tools and smoothly picked the lock. Inside, they found a series of prison cells. Most of them were open and empty, but the furthest door was closed and locked. Ivel picked this one too, perhaps having found inspiration in his new form, as if he was always destined to be a halfling but was trapped inside the body of a half elf all these years.

As the door creaked open, our heroes beheld the ancient skeleton of a fallen dwarf. She was a female warrior whose crumbling bones had been dealt many wounds, but it was no wound that had claimed her life. Instead, Losdir discerned that she had been held captive here and forgotten, left to starve by her orc captors long ago. Upon the walls, they saw that she had carved dwarven runes with which she had written a tragic lamentation. The dwarves of Khundrukar, like many of their kindred, believed that they had been abandoned by the nations of the Silver Marches. For no armies of elves or men came to their aid when the orc hordes were upon them.

Where are the spears of the horselords,
and their tall banners streaming?
Where are the blades of the elflords
and their sharp warhorns singing?
Where are the shields of the marches
upon which our oaths were taken?
They hang upon dusty arches,
their solemn duty forsaken.

Now none remain to guard the dwarfhold
from the hands of plunder.
And none remain to bear the stonelord
to his eternal slumber.
No more will the song of the hammer
be heard in the forge everburning.
The light of the dying ember
fades in the hall of mourning.

Saladin, his heart torn by the sorrowful song, sang aloud a song of lamentation for Haruld and the dwarves, and all those who had lost their lives at the hands of orcs and other monsters. Then he vowed to fulfill the oaths of his forefathers and lay the spirits of Khundrukar to rest. His song seemed to be taken up by ghostly spirits whose voices could be heard faintly. Then they heard a sound like the ringing of a hammer upon metal, deep below in the earth. And they knew that it was no apparition, but truly a hammer striking steel upon an anvil, somewhere in the depths of Khundrukar.

 

 

 

5.

The adventurers found that no further progress could be made beyond the storage rooms. Their only choices were to ascend back the way they came through the lair of the troglodytes, or to dive into the subterranean river and go wherever it may lead. Fearing the danger of the fearsome troglodytes, the party decided to take a leap of faith and dove into the water. The swift current carried them through deep, winding tunnels until at last they found themselves washed up on a cold, dark bank beside the river.

They had passed two bridges that led to the far side of the river. Upon the other side, they could see the dim light of a brazier and three figures huddled around it. Flashes of light came as a hammer fell upon a red-hot piece of metal on the anvil, briefly illuminating the space around them. Their surroundings looked like an ancient but well-stocked forge. The figures were stooped, stocky figures that might have been dwarves, if not for their bald heads and pale grey skin. Their white beards were grizzled and unkempt, and their expressions were cold and grim. These were duergar, the grey dwarves of the Underdark who were perhaps distant cousins of the surface-dwelling dwarves. They appeared to be working in the forge, speaking in furtive voices as if fearful of rousing the ghosts of Khundrukar.

Saladin, desiring to speak to these dwarves, approached them and tried to put them at ease with a soothing melody. But he tripped and fell upon the floor. The duergar were startled, and one of them choked back a chuckle at the sight of the bard falling upon his face. But one who appeared to be their leader was not so amused. He wore dark gloves studded with gems and a fine cloak with a silver clasp upon it. He demanded to know who the adventurers were and what they were doing in his domain. Saladin answered that he only wanted to meet the dwarves who had built the forge of Khundrukar. Upon hearing this, the commander of these duergar flashed a sly grin and bade the adventurers to follow.

He led the party through large doors that led to a great hall. Two rows of tall pillars reached up to a high ceiling. Where the pillars ended, a large stone seat that looked like a throne sat against the wall. It was plain to look upon, yet carried an air of authority. Before the throne, a small camp had been made, where three other duergar were sitting around a fire. They seemed startled at the site of the adventurers, but the cloaked duergar led them quickly past the camp towards a large door on the far side of the hall. Crude orcish writing had been carved onto these wooden doors. The lines looks shaky and hurried even for orcish runes, as if the one who had made them was in great haste. They read:

“Beyond this door the Maker of Death is chained. May he gnaw on his own hate until the sun dies and all things end.”

The duergar opened the door and bade the adventurers to enter.

“Beyond this door is the shrine of Moradin, where you will find whom you seek,” said the duergar, smiling grimly. “The last dwarf of Khundrukar is standing inside this sacred place.”

The adventurers stepped inside, and immediately the duergar shut the door behind them, barring it from the outside. They could hear his dark laughter echoed in the hall beyond the door. Inside, the party saw that it was inside a shrine, but it had long ago been desecrated by the orcs. The floor of the chamber was littered with bones. The stone pews had been broken and hewn in many places. At the far wall, there was a great altar where the face of a mighty dwarf carved into the wall had been defiled by the orcs. And standing upon the altar, surrounded by the bones of slain orcs piled all around him, was the grim skeleton of a dwarf, clad in chainmail and holding a fearsome blade, still black with the blood of the ancient dead. The adventurers beheld Durgeddin the Black, the master smith and last dwarf of Khundrukar to stand against the orc hordes.

Losdir stepped forward to approach the altar. As he did so, orcish runes upon the walls glowed with a crimson light, and the bones upon the floor began to shudder. Then there arose from the bones the ancient desiccated corpse of an orc warrior. It looked like a dry husk, but a pale green flame was lit within its eye sockets, and it held two vicious blades in its hands. It was a wight that had risen from the remains of an orc champion from the Many Arrows tribe who had been buried alive in the chamber to keep eternal watch over the Maker of Death. The undead guardian gave a cold, hideous cackle as two piles of bones stirred on either side of the wight and rose into the shape of tall, skeletal ogres which had also been buried here. The fell guardians of Durgeddin’s final resting place stalked toward the living.

 

 

 

6.

In the shrine of Moradin, Losdir and Saladin drew their blades, while Ivel and Jackie readied their spells and powers. The adventurers faced the ancient guardians of the bones of Durgeddin the Black, the lord of Khundrukar who fought the invading orcs to his final breath. The wight and two skeletal ogres attacked. A fierce battle ensued in the hallowed hall of Moradin that had been defiled by the orcs long ago. When the dust of the bones had settled, the heroes were tired and wounded, but the undead monstrosities were no more.

All was quiet when the door to the shrine opened. Outside, they saw a female duergar who wore the armor and cape of a high-ranking officer. The other duergar gave deference to her and called her their leader. When she saw the bones of Durgeddin Stonehammer, she had a look of wonder in her eyes and bowed before his remains in a grim salute. She released the adventurers and thanked them for ridding the hall of the foul undead that dwelt within, for her people were loath to enter and face the danger themselves. She called herself Nimira, and she was the leader of the duergar expedition to Khundrukar. Her lieutenant, whom she called Snurrevin, looked at them with downcast eyes, having been punished by his leader for taking it upon himself to torment these newcomers.

Nimira seemed particularly curious about Jackie, having never seen such an advanced golem before. She offered to trade a relic of Khundrukar in exchange for the construct, but the party declined. Instead, they asked if there might be ways to upgrade their machine companion and provide a mode of flight, for they feared what they might find in the deepest level of the dungeon. Then Nimira sensed their purpose, and she warned them that a great danger laid there. For the Black Lake in the caverns beneath the forge was the lair of a great black dragon named Nightscale. The duergar feared her and begrudgingly paid tribute to her, while the troglodytes above seemed to fear and worship her as a divine spirit of wrath. Nimira told them that she would give them safe passage to descend to the lake if they wished, but they did go at their own peril.

The adventurers contemplated her words, and at last they asked for her aid in their quest to rid Khundrukar of the monstrosities that infested her halls and caverns. Nimira was reluctant to help them for fear of angering Nightscale and inviting a reprisal from her, but she offered them a deal. The halls of Khundrukar beyond the throne room were haunted by fell spirits and ghosts. If the heroes ventured there and returned alive, they would prove themselves worthy of the task of challenging the fearsome dragon, and she would lend what aid she could. The party agreed and set out to explore the ruins of the fortress.

Before they set out, the party rested, for they had not truly slept in what felt like ages. Trusting that the duergar would not harm them while they slept, the adventurers laid down and closed their eyes. And each of them had a strange and vivid dream.

Ivel dreamt that he was standing at the edge of a large subterranean lake. A black claw emerged from the surface and pulled him down into the water. When he was beneath the surface of the pool, the water felt cold and yet strangely soothing to him, as if he were in a dark womb, and he felt like he would be reborn, but into what shape he could not tell.

Losdir dreamt that he had finally completed his book, the Tome of Battle, and had become a renowned scholar. Both students and masters of lore came from across the world to meet him and ask for his autograph in their copies of his book. One of them was a young, beautiful sorceress who said she was one of his biggest fans. Losdir somehow felt that he knew her in his dream, though he had never seen her before, and when he awoke he could not remember who she was.

Jackie dreamt that it was in a mighty creation forge, standing at the end of an assembly line. Row upon row of warforged stood beside it, each identical to itself. It had always wondered at its own unique abilities, and now in this place inside its dream, the answer felt close at hand. Then a figure strode through the rows of warforged, a woman clad in fine robes with a large, glowing tattoo wrapping around her skin. She seemed to known Jackie as a mother might know her child and caressed its metal face. Jackie thought that she might be its creator, but when it woke it could not remember why.

Finally, Saladin dreamt that he had slain the great wyrm Nightscale in the Black Lake beneath the fortress of Khundrukar. Carrying the dragon’s head back to the town of Blasingdell, he and his companions were given a hero’s welcome. The owner of the local tavern, a half-elven maiden, was particularly taken with him, and Saladin welcomed her advances. The town of them were married and had many children, and they grew old together. After many blissful years, they had reached a ripe old age when they laid down to sleep, holding each other’s hand and closing their eyes for the final journey at their end of their mortal life.

But when Saladin closed his eyes, he heard a dreadful voice. He seemed to recognize it from long ago, for it was the voice of a dwarf of Khundrukar whose sorrowful visage he had seen halls of that ancient ruin many years before. The voice called to him with a warning.

“Don’t trust her.”

When Saladin opened his eyes, he was not in a warm bed lying beside his beloved. Instead, he was lying on a bedroll in the cold floor beside his three companions in the deeps of Khundrukar. And a terrible fever had taken hold of him. For he had waded through the foul waters of the dungeon, and they had infected him with a terrible illness. Weak though he was, Saladin pulled himself up to his feet and strode forward as the party readied themselves to plunge into the haunted halls of Khundrukar.

 

 

 

7.

The adventurers stepped into the halls which the duergar claimed were claimed by the spirits of the dead. There were many chambers and corridors littered with bones. The ancient remains of both orc warriors and dwarven defenders laid together where they had fought and died a century ago. Amid the corridors, the party came across a large square with a well in the center. Saladin walked up to the well and peered into it.

The water was dark but clear, and he could see his own reflection upon its surface. Suddenly, the water stirred, and when the rippled had settled, Saladin no longer saw himself in the well but the face of a ghostly dwarf with a dark and sorrowful visage. The face of the dwarf looked back at Saladin, and then the face emerged from the water, its long spectral hair trailing down from it. The apparition gave out a terrifying wail, and Saladin, struck by the horror and sorrow of that voice, fled the square in terror. Down the dark corridor he ran in terror while the sound of battle echoed behind him.

When at last he regained his senses, Saladin found himself in another part of the fortress. Here, the remains of many dwarves and orcs laid upon the floor. His companions caught up to him, having driven away the apparition for the time being, though they could still hear its wailing voice faintly echoing through the halls. Saladin thought that he recognized the voice as one that joined him in song when he sang of his lamentation for the sorrows of the ancient dwarves.

The party pressed onward explored the chambers in this part of the fortress. They found only bones and broken weapons in most of the rooms, which had been ransacked long ago, but beneath one door they saw a crack of light. Cautiously, the adventurers entered the room, and much to their surprise they found a well-furnished study. The walls were lined with bookshelves that will filled with ancient tomes and scrolls. Upon the floor, a large decorative rug gave a feeling of warmth and homeliness to the place. And behind a wide table in the center of the chamber, a half-elven woman sat upon a chair, and she was sobbing.

When she saw the party entered, the woman leaped up in surprise and hid behind the chair. She appeared to be frightened. The heroes approached her cautiously. They were in awe that such a frail-looking woman would be found alone in this dark and dangerous place. The woman introduced herself as Idalla and claimed that a wizard from an adventuring party had captured her and brought her to his place. He had locked her up in this room while he explored the dungeon below.

Ivel reached out with his senses and detected an extremely faint aura of magic around her. Jackie, sensing that something was not right, probed Idalla’s mind with his psychic abilities. He saw that in the past twelve hours, she had been alone in this room, but she was not sobbing. Instead, she was calmly reading an ancient tome. More importantly, she was not a half-elf, but a human instead. Then she had changed herself into a half-elf and began sobbing just before the party entered the room.

The adventurers drew their weapons and demanded that Idalla tell them the truth. She told them that in fact, she was a shapeshifter from another dimension. She had somehow found herself in his plane of existence, and was searching for a way back to her own world when a wizard had found her. He held her captive with spells of binding for his own purposes. Now that she had met adventurers who seemed more chivalrous, he hoped they might rescue her. If they helped her depart from this world, she would be true to them and help them in whatever way she could.

The party weighed Idalla’s words, and they believed that she was being truthful. They allowed her to join them but told her about their purpose and warned her of the danger that was ahead. She seemed frightened but she was determined to be true to her word, and so she joined him in their quest.

When the adventurers returned to the throne room, Nimira and the Duergar were amazed that they had emerged from the haunted halls. Yet they were even more surprised at the company they had brought with them. Nimira was suspicious of the newcomer Idalla, but she kept her word and promised to give what aid she could to the adventurers. For the next seven days, while Saladin recovered from his fever, the duergar worked in the forge upon the metal body of Jackie the warforged, the chief smith among them being Snurrevin himself. They draw upon all of their skill as smiths from the deep and the secret knowledge they had discovered from the lore left by Durgeddin and his folk in the forge of Khundrukar. The Duergar constructed a pair of crudely shaped wings that would give Jackie the power of flight, though only for a short time.

Snurrevin also traded to Saladin the gloves that he wore for a price of gold and other relics that were found in the ruins. They were magical gloves that would give Saladin strength equal to a mighty ogre. Snurrevin was loath to do surrender them, but he was forced to do so by the order of his leader Nimira who deemed that the adventurer was more worthy of the gloves than her sniveling lieutenant.

Finally, upon the adventurers’ request, Nimira commanded that Snurrevin and two of her warriors accompany the party on their quest. For Snurrevin was a mage in his own right, and her warriors had the power to increase their size to a great height. They would aid them in the battle that was to come. And so, the expedition set out from the halls of Khundrukar to vanquish the dragon that dwelled in the deep caverns below.

 

 

 

8.

Losdir the elven warrior sage, Saladin the half-elven bard, Ivel the halfling (formerly half-elf) warlock and wild sorcerer, and Jackie the warforged mystic set out with their companions for the Black Lake. They climbed down a chain ladder that descended into a great chasm, leading to the deepest caverns beneath the Stone Tooth. When they reached the bottom, they followed winding passaged and crossed ancient stone bridges built over a subterranean river.

But upon stepping on the second bridge, the stone bridge collapsed with a loud noise. The heroes leapt across the chasm one after the other. When they were all safely across, they beheld a vast underground lake. In the center of the lake was an island where they spotted the glitter of gold and ancient relics. But the water of the lake beside their shore stirred in front of them.

From the surface of the lake, the enormous head of a black dragon rose up. Her gaping maw opened wide, and from the depth of her belly there came forth a foul spray of acid that fell upon the adventurers and their companions. Snurrevin and the duergar warriors screamed and fell to the floor, their bodies melted by the acid, but Idalla was nowhere to be seen. Then the heroes fought for their lives, with their fell swords, sorcery and the powers of the mind. The dragon was fearsome to behold, and many times, the heroes were nearly overcome by her assault. But the heroes found the weak points between her scales and dealt her many deadly blows.

At last, the dragon, bleeding and growing weary from her wounds, retreated to the island in the center of the lake. Jackie, spreading its newly gained wings, gave chase and landed on the island. Then, in her final act of spite, the dragon spewed forth the last of the acid in her belly upon both Jackie and the treasure horde of Khundrukar. The gold and jewels, swords and axes of great craftsmanship, and the most precious relics of the dwarves were lost in the dragon’s foul acid breath. Then Ivel, horrified and enraged by the dragon’s most hateful deed, raised his fingers and let loose a volley of magical flame that dealt the final blow. The dragon fell upon the island, the smoke rising from her charred body. Then for the first and last time, she spoke.

“This cannot be… I am… Nightscale…”

Saladin raised his sword and lopped off the dragon’s head as he had done so in his dream. He and his companions looked sadly at what was left of the treasure of the ancient dwarves whom they had hoped to avenge. All that remained was a pile of corroded metal in a sickening pool of acid. But then, something glimmered within the remnants of the dragon’s horde. The heroes discovered a large crystal that had been left unscathed. When Ivel held it, he sense a purpose magical aura of conjuration emanating from it.

Idalla, emerging from her hiding place, saw the crystal and seemed to recognize it. She informed the party that it was a powerful relic, called a dragonshard artifact, that had the power to open a gateway to another dimension. She had found her way out of this plane.

Now, each of the adventurers had a choice to make. Ivel chose to remain in this world, as did Losdir in order to complete his Tome of Battle. But Jackie wanted to return to his own world, and Saladin wished to go with him in search of new adventurers. Idalla asked to join them in departing from this plane. Jackie, Saladin, and Idalla held the crystal between them and they bid farewell to their companions. Then they activated the crystal and opened a fiery gateway to another plane of existence.

It was only after they had stepped into the void that Idalla revealed her true self. Great fiendish wings extended out of her back, tearing through her robes. Casting aside her tattered garments, a beautiful and deadly succubus emerged, stretching her wings at last. The demon who had called herself Idalla had been summoned by a dwarf wizard of Khundrukar who had fled Khundrukar at the height of the orc siege. He returned after the siege had ended to find that all had been slain. Being wracked by guilt, he sought to safeguard the ruins of his people, and tried ever more dangerous methods until at last, he summoned a demon and bound her to the halls and caverns beneath the Stone Tooth. But in time, she whispered into his mind and drove him mad, then devoured him. His ghost had haunted the ruined halls of his people ever since. Now, at last, Idalla had found a way to escape from this place, and she thanked the heroes for their efforts. The adventurers cursed the found demon as they fell through time and space, ultimately finding themselves in a strange new world…

The End (?)