Lights in the sky and a chill wind..., Pre adventure briefing Soul Forger GS unbalanced 5250 @ 06/09/2020 Options

[Orlock]

Brothers and sisters,

Over the last few weeks, an artefact within the possession of the Soul Forger church has started to burn with a bright light within the Grand Guild Hall located in the Brekkans.

The artifact is thought to be a device which connects to the realms of the goodly Gods.

Each morning of late, I have noticed a cold breeze in the area of this relic and this has now started to come up through the tunnels underneath the Guild Halls, which has frozen me to my core.

I have struggled to keep warm and not even the comfortable warmth of the forges have managed to ward off the cold and so as you imagine as a result and have been puzzled by these recent events. The only time I have felt warm is when I pray within the forge, weirdly this protects me from the cold.

Interestingly, I am now receiving reports from high up in the mountains that a bright light has been seen the likes of which has not been seen before – I am unable to tell whether this bodes well for us and I call out for assistance from my brothers and sisters within the church to join me in an expedition to get to the bottom of what has been happening.

Due to other factors beyond our control, we are presently unable to muster an expedition group anytime soon however this does give us time to conduct some research so that we can better understand what is happening in connection to this device.

Presently, I am unable to determine whether this is a good or a bad thing and I can only describe what I feel as that there is some kind of mystical charge building in the area.

To assist you, I have prayed to the Soulforger and he has kindly explained to me the following questions

What kind of threat do recent events pose to us ?
It allows Gods to walk free unhindered – bad and good

What is behind these recent events ? (cold breeze and lights)
Something is continually moving to and from our realm (Brekkans)

Why do these objects connecting to the Gods exist ? What is their purpose ?
When created the realm was larger and ‘sections’ of it have been warded off. The device allows creatures to pass these warding’s. Some of these ‘sections’ are not harmful to us whilst others are

I would urge those coming along on this expedition over the next few months to also conduct their own research into recent events in an effort for us to better prepare for this please – any responses you receive, please announce them within these halls so that we may pool our knowledge.

Bright blessings as always,

Thane Dagda Earthsunder
Spiritual Healer and Armoured Priest of Soulforger
Order of the Wolf

(OOC for information on contacting Paul for this run, please click here - this is intended as an IC chat about the next run)

[JonMace]

I am sorry to invade your place of worship.

But I had a strange dream which I feel you should be aware of.

As my mind cleared and the tales and told of the dwarfs filled it I was sure the gate to the gods , if it is. needs a dragon stone to power the gate and to keystone to open it. the key stone must be from the place you are heading too. but if you wish not to use one the gate should still open.

Again sorry for my intrusion

Fred

[Orlock]

Fred you are always welcome within these holy halls.

You need not ask for permission and you have proven yourself several times to be a stout fellow.

This is interesting news indeed, meet me in the tavern for some ales and a hearty meal - we shall discuss this some more.

In the meantime, should any of my fellow brothers and sisters uncover anything, please let me know.

Bright blessings as always,

Dagda

[JonMace]

OK after thinking further on the matter we have the keystone here in the halls, the dragonstone seems more primal, but as mush as a try to think about it them more it drifts away from me.

Fred

[Kail]

If we need a dragon stone there has been young white dragons seen over the Eastern hills. Their presence has slowed the gathering of ore there. We don't know their den is or if there are adult dragons there. I'm just putting dragons and dragon stones together. I'll ask the forge for some insight.

Our crafters want to start work in "the giant's rock" but bad luck befalls those that go there. I could find no power there but an abnormally large number of people that go there come back with severe injuries. I have been able to cure all those that have returned but if a full work force goes I will not be able to keep up.

Hepheastus

[Kail]

So I've sought some guidance from the forge.

The dragons that have been seen over the Eastern Hills are not from Primus. The longer they are on Primus the more and brighter they shine or give off light.

These dragons seem to be coming through to Primus from somewhere near "the giant's rock".

I can not find out about where dragon stone can be found. I am scrying spiritual so this may be because they are magical.

Hepheastus

[JonMace]

I am not really a scryer, but my ways of looking at things are just right guesses or from focusing my mind, when looking for answers about these dragon stones, I can neither reach good guesses nor focus my mind.

Athough some thoughts have come to me which I wish to share when thinking if a keystone could be turned into a dragonstone

"at the start of the year a flinthammer was after a stone in earthome and a few other people have hired to get one. hiring was in deci and trollisvile. and there was thingthing to do with a bird hunt in the darkwoods. and something about a stone and lizard birds . lots of quests have been going on over the place so mybe there is more then one dragonstone."

[Orlock]

Thank you both Hepheastus and Fred,

Until such time as we deal with this I would prefer our kin to avoid this area if they can bare it... the injuries they are receiving are concerning and I am keen to avoid these.

I have drafted plans for the building of a Catherdral and in the meantime and if they are willing, I would prefer they can channel their efforts into assisting the church.

I will naturally cover their expenses as normal and make up any shortfall in their wages.

One thing I do know is that these are not 'dragons' but rather 'hatchlings' which are flying about (Of the North knowledge of mythical creatures).

So I would urge folks not to disturb these wonderful creatures for fear of finding themselves faced with an enraged parent seeking to protect their brood.

I have asked a resident friendly wizard, Isaac to see if he can uncover what these recent events mean.

Should you uncover anything more, please let me know - very good work so far though.

Bright blessings,

Dagda

[Parrp]

Ey up Dagda,

I think Ash talked about something like Dragon Stone or Dragon Ore, he knew of some trader bloke who can deal with this. I think he said his name was Anath, might be worth waking him up and asking if this is correct.

Balegar

[TimDallen]

Balegar,
The Dragon Ore and Stone you are referring to are I believe entirely different substances as these are sources of stone that contains a store of magical power that can be directed and harnessed for ritual and the like.

Ashalan

[Helsvell]

Greetings,

Almost absent-mindedly I discovered I was reading a book relevant to this. The book was regarding another realm ruled by six brothers and five sisters. They found and looked after a strange creature, they took good care and it grew in strength until one day it turned on them and attacked. This caused a great war during which five of the siblings died. They eventually overcame the beast and rebuilt the land in peace. The beast went into hiding to regain strength.

There are gates to this realm around primus, they are shielded so it may be hard to find them. The reason that this is relevant is that the dragons travel between that world and primus. I susepct to find the reason why they are here we will need to travel to the realm. I am tied up with research at the moment but when I have time I will consult with the Silver Dragon again.

Viktrum

[atem55]

Greetings Forgebrothers and sisters,

I have received a missive from one Gavin Redrock who has made contact as he has heard of our enquiries regarding the dragon stone.

His family have been the custodians of a pot for as long as he can remember, with the understanding that if any dwarfs are to travel to 'the land of no dragons' it should be passed onto them. I have said we would be grateful for this and asked him what he knows of it.

I have also done some initial scrying with the following results:

1. What is the pot?

The pot is a type of forge that is able to store all powers, it allows you to 'reforge' a item of power and extract the base power from it, as I understand the response, if it is used on a brown mana sword then an amount of brown mana power can be extracted and used as the wielder of the pot sees fit.

2. Where is it from and who made it?

I received no answer to this prayer, after some research, talking to some of the more venerable priests I found 3 references to the pot, 2 in the first age and 1 in the second. The text hinted that the Soulforger himself created the pot!

3. How can this help us in our upcoming mission?

Again, the answers were unclear.


I shall think more about this, as I would ask any others to do aswell, if anyone has any further queries I shall be happy to ask them.

Trellis.

[atem55]

Greetings,

I have asked the spirits a few more questions regarding the pot from Gavin Redrock.

Initially any responses seemed shrouded in shadow, it would appear, the pot, dragonstones, keystones etc. are all part of the realm of shadow, and cannot be communed about directly without the item in your possession. Gavin has now provided me with the pot.

1. How is the pot used?

Place any object on or in it and the power will be drained from the item.

2. How has it been used before and who by?

Never been used this side of the gate, but the otherside it was last used by a person called Shee.

3. Finally, I asked if anyone else had knowledge of the pot.

I again received no reply, i believe this relates to the answers being shrouded in shadow.


It may be useful for us to stock up on some communication scrolls of various types, we may be able to get more information when the answers are not shrouded.

Trellis

[Helsvell]

In order to empower the gates to travel to the other planes we would need both a keystone from the location, and also a power source such as dragon stone. The gates can potentially lead to several locations, such as the shadowland, the land of no dragons or the land of the gods. There are indications that some of these lands may have time running differently to Primus. There are threats to The Soulforger located in these lands, and also missing objects needed to complete The Great Forge.

Regards,

Viktrum

[Helsvell]

There are two options available to us currently. We already have the keystone to the place of the gods, we could go there first to get aid and information. The other option does not sound sensible, but we could power up the gate without a keystone. We would have no control over where we go, but it could prove enlightening.

I am going to continue to research and speak with the Silver Dragon, to see what else I can discover. Does anyone else in the church have time to try to find the dragonstone we need to power the gates? I believe some may have been sold in Anath's auction house. Perhaps speaking to other mercenaries may help.

Regards,

Viktrum

[Parrp]

My preference would be to go the place of the gods and seek information. How much dragon stone do we need?

Balegar

[Orlock]

Brethren to clarify, we have the device from the auction house - this is what is in the Soulforger Halls within the Brekkans causing issues....

Dagda Earthsunder

[Orlock]

More news concerning recent events... this is from our scout 'Ivon Hacket'

To the east there is a small Hamlet called Copper Helm - its home to about twenty humans and their flock of sheep...

They're all gone - nothing left but piles of ash and 'large footprints' (thought to be Dragons)

This changes the dynamic quite a bit in how to deal with these creatures which are starting to become a menace.

Additionally, our normal supply routes to the Soul Forger Guild Hall are starting to dry up...

Literally - no ale or food - we are having to rely on what we have stored in the cellar...

Word is that these surrounding villages (again to the east) are under attack and smoke can be seen in the distance

If I learn of anything more in the meantime, I will let you know...

Bright blessings,

Dagda

[Orlock]

Further prayers to the Soul forger revealed the following...

Are the attacks to the East connected to the bright lights and chill wind ?

Yes, the lights are the dragons and the wind is from the cauldren of the witch

What exactly is attacking the villages following the reports from the scouts ?

Two dragons and over twenty Melnis

What is opening the portal to release these creatures into the surrounding lands ?

Three portals are being opened by the fire dragon stone held by the Melnis

[Orlock]

Aye up brothers and sisters, a strange thing happened last night - whilst on her Ales in the Wizards Sleeve, my daughter Sybil received a message from a 'friend of the north' who will be joining our expedition... this is now second hand information but I made sure I understood from Sybil what was sent to her (empathic message) and this is what she learned... sadly Sybil will not be joining us... she will be guarding the Soulforger Grand Guild Hall while we are gone with others.

'Please do not be alarmed. My name is Grukk and I would be grateful if you could pass rely this message to your father, Dagda as I believe it may concern your Church.

"My recent travels have lead Groll ... I IS GROLL ... GROLL LIKE DA LITTLE DWARVES ... (apologies for that i can't explain this right now) and I to the borders of your lands as rumour had it there was a bridge, or gateway, of sorts that may be of interest to us. Last night, Groll rested in the hope that on the next day we might ask permission to enter, as er I appreciate there may be some difficulties in us just simply wandering around, being troll and all ... I IS TROLL...

It is whilst resting that a vision came to me, that of a bridge, curiously known to Groll, not myself, that travels to a place much like Primus but different. I saw it guarded by a Dragon of mist, but being a vision I journeyed on as best I could until upon the bridge I saw two stones, one red, one blue, each with a different symbol.

I have tried to dwell further upon the bridge and the stones, for I have some skill in this area, but my mind is clouded, distracted perhaps when doing so.
This is not unduly surprising as it is often the way of things that to gather information one must be in sight or close to it for then it is harder to shield against those who wish knowledge of it. As such and if this information is useful to you I would ask for permission to enter your lands and learn more.

Further i have had another vision that of a small hamlet called Copper Town being attacked I believe by the ancient folk, what link there might be I do not know but should you be thinking of travelling to find out we would gladly join you. Further if you have any other information that you would like to share then we would be grateful.

Should you allow us onto your lands we would be grateful if perhaps you could alert your guards of such so as to avoid any misunderstandings"

I've invited Grukk/Groll to join us on our expedition as a guest... time and again I have resisted our isolationist tendancies to welcome strangers amongst us with open arms (albeit we always need to be vigilant of course /wink)

I expect you all to be coureous and to extend a warm invitation to him as you would any dwarf abroad... he is off the north... and so considered a fellow brother...

Dagda