Expedition to the Upper City [Order of Archaz, Dwarven Elder (DM)]

[Don Nadie]

[A letter delivered by a man in the colors of a Student Balladeer. It is left, solmenly, for dwarves and the Elder to read]

Esteemed Dwarvenfolk of the Order of Archaz, esteemed Elder,

In the interest of keeping proper record of the event of our expedition, and seeking to ensure that those who fell are appropriately remembered, I have written a report. While someday I hope to pay homage to the fallen in the Thousandfold Tale, I understand the value of a clear and factual record.  This shall hopefully serve to instruct future members of the Order, specially should any of the three survivors perish.

I have also added the transcriptions of what we could translate in the Audience Chamber. Some were done by myself, some were done by Acolyte Leiah, of the Sisterhood of the Sybilline Wine. I hope that our work, and her sacrifice, bears testimony of the friendship between the Cinquefoil and the High Dwarves.

I would also ask of the Elder that, should he have an objection to these transcriptions being shared with non-dwarves, he let me know. Should that be the case, I shall leave my own copies for Sverri. Otherwise, I would like to allow both The Competition and the College of Balladeers to hold a copy.

Respectfully,

Alejandro Benjazar
Storyteller & Student of the College of Balladeers

[A report is added, in neatly stacked pages. Its tone, far from Alejandro's usually enthusiastic style:]

[hide=Report]Preparations: The company gathered in the Tablet. There, we were told both that our number was too great and that the danger would be inmense. Eleven were chosen: every single dwarf who wished to come, and then a few allies of their kin. Acolyte Leiah joined, wishing to provide translations and explore the History of Kulkund. I joined wishing to protect the Acolyte and to stand by the side of S/r Snorri. Nadiri Zieghart joined wishing to prove dwarfkind some Astronomers were trustworthy. Several others were rejected. A key, recovered by the only survivor of an earlier scouting expedition, was given to S/r Doreahilda.

Acolyte Leiah made me promise that, should she fall, her purse would go to the Sisterhood so that they could continue her good works. I promised that I'd protect her. Only one of those promises would be unbroken.

Travel: Under the leadership of Doreahilda, we dared the sandstorm and took a cavaran to Mount Kulkund. The way was not terribly dangerous, though we chose to outrun the countless ash revenants, and struggled to find our way. The dwarven caravaneer, a expert in navigating the dangerous path to the mountains, found his way with ease. At the mountain we were received by a dwarven scout, who guided us closer to the Breached gates. There, we excavated into the tunnels.

Tunneling: Frontal assault being out of the question, we accessed the Upper City of Kulkund through some side-tunnels. We had to climb, which some of our group found difficult, while assaulted by dangerous insects and poisonous spiders. Hrudring, a not-too experience mage was our first fatality. Struggling to climb, the insects took him while, above and below, our companions fought.

The Crossroad: We reached first a section of the Upper City which must have once been a Crossroad between different Wards, and perhaps served as a market. No particular discovery was made in this section, save for signs of a Guild dedicated to ensuring goods were compliant with (presumably high) artisanal standards. Orcs from the Thousand Tribes cut our advance, valiantly faced by our now ten-person crew. A particularly foul or, a Bloodsinger with a giant sword, caused havoc in our lines. The battle in this section of our trip claimed S/r Victor, formerly of the Banda Rossa, and our leader Doreahilda, who died surrounded by orcan corpses. Acolyte Leiah was badly wounded, but I managed to retrieve her from the verge of death. The Bloodsinger was at long last put down.

The path forward: After choosing S/r Ragnos as our second leader, we pushed forward towards the Maker's District. There, we could hear the sounds of battle, and soon found ourselves as the third unwelcome party in one of the constant skirmishes between Deep Dwarves and the Thousand Tribes. With their treacherous alliance having shattered the very moment they took the Upper City, such events are common, for instance, in the Valley. We pushed forth until we came upon a chasm behind which was a locked door of great and beautiful engravings. There we were assaulted by an Orcan band and an assasin, who blended in and out of the Shadows. We crossed the treacherous chasm with him on our back, bidding his time, and discovered that the key we had carried was, in fact, to open that very door... Into the Kingly Halls of the Upper City.

Behind those doors, for centuries locked, we encountered strange statues capable of life and action. No doubt a beautiful work of dwarven crafstmanship, we were however forced to shatter them, for they were alive and aggressive. It was a hard battle, our frontline needing healing and our backline suffering the assault of the assassin. Nonetheless, we endured without losses and the assassin was defeated.

The Audience Chambers: Ancient and impressive were the Halls where Dwarvenkin had held their assemblies. Six grand statues decorated the walls, representing different Monarchs of Dwarven history. Large benches indicated audiences were to be watched by hundreds. Some of the inscriptions imply that the Guilds of different crafts held significance, so probably the seats would've been filled by their leaders and notables. There was an elevated Dais, with a grand throne shadowed by the skeleton of a defeated dragon, which perhaps implies long and proud wars between the Dwarvenfolk and the Sibilant. In the center was beautiful mosaic representing the Wheel, and one last speech still in its lectern. There, presumably, Speakers would stand to speak before their Monarch.

The chambers, though undisturbed by Clans or Deep Dwarves, was not unoccupied. Numerous living statues attempted to kill us. Tragically, one of them, a true pillar, fell in one single swing over S/r Helgar. He perished instantly.

With the statues defeated, and after lammenting our loss, we set to examine the room, and study the ancient texts. Acolyte Leiah did a marvelous job, translating most of the speech, a work calling desperately for peace.

It was as we pondered the great spirit of this unknown speaker that a Duregar Senator fell upon us with his entourage and an assassin.  Inspired by the speech we had just read, our leader attempted parley. The Senator demanded that we surrender our findings and our key to him, in order to let us leave unharmed. He claimed he wished to destroy everything in the Kingly Halls, to erase the memmory of the Upper Dwarves. He also claimed his kind had been "enslaved" by the Upper City - perhaps an overdramatic take on the Deep Dwarves living deeper, where they had to focus on war against the monstrous denizes of the lowest caves. Unwilling to let them destroy the history of Dwarkin, none of us hesitated to refuse his offer.

We fought. It was a hard battle, much of which I spent dashing and jumping between benches in an attempt to keep the dwarven assassin from attacking anyone else or from killing me.  S/r Ragnos fell first in this battle, to the axe of the Senator, though not without helping take most of his entourage. S/r Snorri almost fell too, but Acolyte Leiah and I managed to bring him back with waters. With a smart use of a trinket, S/r Baracknar knocked the assassin down, which allowed us to take his life. Now alone and cowardly, the Senator decided to focus his attacks not on our warriors, but on the healers. He drank a seeing potion and, with dire speed, cut Nadiri Zieghart. Then, he proceeded to pursue me Acolyte Leiah. He caught her with ease. I only saw her when, after one swing, her invisibility broke and I saw her body fall to the ground, lifeless.

When it became evident that he had no chance against those of us who remained... He chose to escape.

Escape from the Halls: Now it was clear that attack of the Deep Dwarves had been directed at taking advantage of our expedition and, as the Senator's forces retreated, more Clans were descending upon the Upper City. We were exhausted, lacking in supplies and wounded. Still, none of us wished to leave our comrades behind. After choosing S/r Snorri as our new leader, each of us took some of our fallen.

The way back to the surface was harrowing. I used what little remained in my pack. We crossed the deadly chasm using jumping beans, so as to be able to carry the bodies of the four lost in battle. We fought against another dozen orcan, the scouting parties of the hundreds whose drums we could hear, echoing in the halls. After some debate, we had to accept we could either choose to bring these four to rest, or die trying to recover the corpses of the other half of our party, spread through the different nooks and tunnels of Kulkund.

With the help of the Scout, we made way back to the Well. I carried Acolyte Leiah. S/r Baracknar and S/r Snorri carried the rest.

Aftermath: The body and purse of Acolyte Leiah were delivered to Acolyte Amelie and the Sisterhood.
The body of Nadiri Zieghart was delivered to the Eagles' Mount.
The bodies of Helgar and Ragnos were delivered to the Tablet.
Due to the horrifying attack of Wyrm-Cultists, I remained awake, and tried to stay near the Acolytes to ensure their safety.
In the aftermath, I attended Acolyte Leiah's funeral in the Well, and helped carry her body to the Twin's chapel.
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[The letter also includes a small stack of papers marked as transcriptions of texts originally written in Elder Dwarfish]

[hide=OOC]Archaz Order PCs, please message Don Nadie here or in Discord for the transcriptions, as they may be spoilery. Alternatively, find Alejandro Benjazar IG for a paper copy.[/hide]