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Note: The previous Voyager session was #36. However, with Kurt's two interludes and an email session added to the notes page, this one will show up as #40, so I've decided to change the numbering to match…

• Third Age, Year 1108
• 20 July - Arrive at Sorgul's commune (“Alrik's grave” as the elves call it)

From #32: The Dwarven Waraxe is an ancient weapon with a strong history to the dwarves of Clangdun. It is engraved with runes along the handle that say “Einerk, son of Morif, queen of the long deep”. And, on the back of the axe head is written “Dendd, true blade Wharloda”. The former phrase is fairly obvious. It refers to the original owner of the blade. The latter, though, is a little enigmatic. It is the name of the blade, but it will not be clear whether the blade is called Dendd or Wharloda.

An Arcane Knowledge check (DC25, Dwarves from Clangdun get a +5) will reveal that the dwarven forger who made and enchanted the blade is named Wharloda. Therefore, the itself blade is called Dendd. This information, however, is not really meaningful.

Aramil has suggested that the axe be returned to the dwarves. The trip from Sorgul's commune to Clangdun is quite long. It is 130 miles due south to the city of Midriver, and then about 100 miles more up the mountains to Clangdun. However, there are decent roads and trails the whole way, so on horseback, the party will be able to travel 32 miles per day. This makes the trip down to Midriver four days, followed by three more up to Clangdun.

Meanwhile, some new characters will be coming up from the south. They will start in Shalrock, where it is around 100 miles to Roundtree. Then, they will likely have to stick to the main roads (as the wilderness down that far has fewer good roads). This means around 150 more miles to Baydun, where they can safely head “across country”. It is 80 miles to Midriver, and then another 100 to Clangdun. In all, this is 430 miles - or just about two weeks. For expedience, we will assume that the party arriving from the south has arrived in Clangdun prior to the main Voyager crew.

The big difference that the old Voyager characters will see during this trip is that they can sleep at inns every night and have warm cooked meals without having to set up a camp and build a fire. However, this will cost money, so make sure the party has their finances in order. Per day, the party can expect the following: A good inn is 2gp, Stabling is 5sp, Good meals are 5sp, and Horse feed is 5cp. Total is 3.55gp per person per day. However, for “Common” services, the daily costs are only 1.35gp, so figure an average of 2-3gp per day per person.

The other opportunity this presents the group is a shopping excursion in Midriver. This city has about 8,000 people, a GP Limit of 15,000 and two conventional power sources (LG and LN). In addition, there are six prominent temples. The two largest are dedicated to Freya and Thor.

Clangdun is a great underground city carved into the side of a steep mountain face. There are dozens on entrances, but all are guarded heavily. Humans are not encouraged in the inner city and must present a pass to gain admittance. The passes are difficult to come by and consist of intricately carved amulets that must be worn at all times while in the city. They can be obtained at the temple to Clanggedin Silverbeard (the main god of the Clangdun dwarves) in the human settlement just outside the main gates.

While the group will have a hard time obtaining a pass, they will have no trouble finding dwarves interested in the axe. They will probably get offers to buy it from just about everybody who sees it. However, the initial offers will be quite low - only a few hundred gold pieces. As time goes by, though, the offers will rise … 1,000 … 2,000 … finally ending around 10,000 (once potential buyers have had an opportunity to study it).

When it gets to this level, the axe story will gain a life of its own and a representative of the king will approach the party. This is Dasur, a Cleric to Clanggedin Silverbeard who is also knowledgable about the royal lineage. He will ask permission to study the axe with magic and when he determines its apparent authenticity, he will relate the story of Einerk as best he can.

Einerk was the younger son of Queen Morif, a controversial ruler of Kalin (known simply as “the old city”), who reigned around 400 years ago. While Dwarves can theoretically live as long as 450 years, they rarely make it beyond 200-300 years for a variety of reasons. As a result, ther are no dwarves alive today that remember this time.

Since dwarven females are less common than dwarven males, it is common that the younger sons will never marry. Therefore, Einerk saw no future in Kalin and set off to seek glory elsewhere. When no word came back after several years, a divination was cast which revealed he was dead. No additional information is available.

Meanwhile, on the death of their mother, Einerk's elder brother, Bagnar became king. However, he was indecisive and let the neighboring orc tribes gain too much power before attempting to deal with them. The resulting campaign was a disaster which weakened the kingdom tremendously. A few years later, a coordinated onslaught led by a fire wizardess named Qo'aycin proved too much and the walls were breached. Qo'aycin opened fissures from the depths which made the city unlivable and the dwarves were forced to abandon their efforts to reclaim it. They settled farther down the river, where they remain to this day.

History has not been kind to Bagnar, but his mother Morif has taken perhaps more than her share of the blame, too. Most likely, this is because of the considerable sexism that exists in the dwarven culture. When Bagnar died, he had only a daughter, Glasur. Traditionally, in such cases, the daughter would be crowned queen. However, the (ascension committee)? ruled that Bagnar's first cousin, Hunar, be crowned, instead.

The current king, Konar, is directly descended from Hunar. Since Einerk had no heirs of his own, the closest living relatives would be Glumli and Glamli, brothers, who were the sons of Tonus. They will show a keen interest in the axe as Einerk has long been considered the saving grace of the clan. They often wonder what would have happened if Einerk had been made a bachelor king instead of his older brother, Bagnar. Naturally, in the absence of any real evidence of the kind of man Einerk was, a mythology has evolved that has made him perhaps more revered than he should be…

Glumli and Glamli will offer 12,000 gp for the axe, but they can be haggled up to 18,000. This payment can come in the form of cash (coins/gems) or magic items (armor and weapons specifically) of equivalent value.

The final piece of the puzzle is Pavo. His great-grandfather, Tobra, married Golir, who was the great-granddaughter of Glasur (or was it great-great?). Tobra was shield master of the great northern wall, a fortification that stands to this day.

If the party decides not to sell the axe and they explain their quest well enough, Glumli and Glamli will ask Pavo to help them as best he can. (If need be, they will offer him 2,000 gp for his services).

Finally, the dwarves have a tradition: When a dwarf dies and his body cannot be recovered for cremation and internment, they place something personal in his crypt instead of his body. Einerk's crypt contains a drow teleport chain! However, nobody knows this as records on such things are not kept.

As should be obvious by now, Einerk's crypt is deep within the old, abandoned city of Kalin - which was made unlivable by volcanic fissures! It will likely take the party quite some time (several sessions) to reach it…

When the old city was abandoned, all entrances save one were collapsed. This entrance is about a three day hike into the mountains and in it will be found the mini-dungeon called “The Crumbling Hall of the Frost Giant Jarl”.

Modify the background and story hooks as needed, and completely omit “The Nameless Thing” from room 9. In its place, put a magical ice chunk that will explain the presense of so much ice this time of year.

Konar - Hill Dwarf/Male - Chief of Clangdun

    F/T 11/13, NG, Age 124 (b.983)
    S:18/80, I:13, W:13, D:18, C:19, Ch:14(15), Co:13
    hp 93, 4'0", 161#

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