Summary of Events:
When we left our adventurers last, they had just regrouped following the end of the war to discuss the information contained within the necklace they had stolen from PLCG Julian Seeder:
“It has been sealed away my lords. Your success is guaranteed by the security of the Dueling Mountain crypt.”
Faithfully,
General Julian Seeder,
Loyal servant of the Gods
The Hammer with which
You will forge a new world
Ren recalls stories of the Dueling Mountains that sit in the center of Nidavellir, north of the Volcano Island they visited before. The mountain ranges were separated by a river that ran from the north down to a bay that opened into the Cordelia Blue. The serpentine canyon that the river carved through the mountains was extremely difficult to reach and would make for the ideal hiding spot.
They head to the shipbuilder’s dock and search out an ocean-worthy vessel and accompanying crew. Ren invests 11k gold on a longship that he names Anne’s Light.
Chonka seeks out someone to turn her dragon’s claw into a shield. She arranges for Ammon Stormdelver to take it to a local forgemaster.
As the party heads to their longship and prepares to depart, they realize that Rota is nowhere to be found. They arrive at Anne’s Light to find Rota waiting for them, standing on the very tip of the bowsprit at perfectly balanced attention.
With everyone gathered, the party sets sail for the river delta south of the Dueling Mountains. In the golden light of the setting sun, Ren unfurls the ship’s new sails. Midnight-dark purple folds of strong cloth snap in the wind. Across its width is an insignia in crisp white; 8 daggers in a circular pattern, overlapping each other, with the silhouettes of Huginn and Muginn crossed over the top. Anne’s Light carves a nimble path down the coast and the adventurers reach the mountains in half the time they’d hoped.
As they are sailing through the river canyon in the mountains, Iolair notices a group of soldiers marching away after setting a falling boulder trap. The boulder is about 150 feet up the cliffside, sitting about 50 feet below the entrance to a tunnel in the cliffside. From the crow’s nest, Ren peers through his captain’s looking glass to inspect the boulder trap.
Iolair walks out to the center of their ship and reveals his Otherworldly Wings, two large spectral eagle wings. He flies upward to where the boulder sits and disengages the trap’s triggering mechanism; a tripwire tied to a log wedged under the boulder.
The party drops an anchor from Anne’s Light and approaches the wall in a small dingy. They quickly secure a climbing rope and start to scale the wall below the tunnel’s entrance. They climb up and start down the tunnel and into the mountainside, taking in the intricate depictions on the tunnel walls. They see carvings and paintings of gods in scenes of war, scenes of great celebration, and scenes of them being worshipped by hordes of followers. At the end of the tunnel, they find a door containing many concentric rings with letters carved into them. Next to it on the wall is a carving of a message:
You must, you can, you might, you won’t
Whatever you do
I decide what you don’t.
You fight, you cede, you fly, you give
Whatever you try
I decide how you live
A will, a way, a soul, a heart
Whatever you are
I control from the start
After some time, Iolair approaches the door and pushes on the rings, turning them to spell a word from top to bottom. He tries fate. When the last ring slides into place, the door cracks open. The adventurers pry it open and enter the Dueling Mountain Crypt.
They enter a circular room with a door at the opposite end and a chest in the center. Ren casts mage hand and attempts to open the chest from afar. As he does, three voices are heard throughout the chamber.
“We have seen your past,” says the first.
“We see you now,” says the second.
“And we have seen every possible future,” says the third. “This place you’ve just entered is a place of peace. Is a place for trust. Is a place for safety. It is the place where some of the world’s greatest secrets have been kept. Your path forward is with your MINDS. Not your weapons. Place them here, in this chest.”
“To proceed forward, you must do one thing and know another. You must empty your weapons into this chest, including your many daggers and your arcane focuses. You must know that if you try to use magic to hurt or to harm, there will be grave consequence.”
They slowly empty their many intruments into the chest and comply with the voice’s request.
As the last item is lowered into the chest, the lid slowly closes, a voice says “Thank you,” and then the chest disappears entirely. When they turn around, the room has changed.
Session End.
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