This is the last chance for your people. For two hundred years, the dwarves have been scattered and leaderless. The dwarf holds are all but gone – conquered by invaders or overrun with outsiders. For decades now, the dwarves have mingled with the kingdoms of men. The humans have treated you well enough. They respect dwarven craft and tenacity. But with every passing year, the dwarves dwindle. Your tongue goes unspoken. Your ways are forgotten. Will there come a time when to be dwarven is merely another way of saying a short, bearded man?
It was not always so. Once the greatest empire in the all the world was dwarven. Once the majestic kingdom of Dammerhall was where all roads converged. The whole world came to pay tribute to the dwarven high king and his mithral throne.
And then calamity. The great mountain-city burned with black flame for three days. All the bridges into Dammerhall collapsed. All the gates were sealed. The only survivors were those who by chance were outside the city. For two centuries dwarves have tried to retake Dammerhall and discovered what really happened that dark day. And for two hundred years, they have failed.
The remaining dwarven holds, once vassals to Dammerhall, fell to squabbling about who should rule the dwarves. Weakened by division, many dwarf holds were overrun by orc or dragon. Some signed treaties with the realms of men, all but forfeiting their autonomy. And most disgraceful, some holds fell because of civil war where dwarf turned upon dwarf.
But there is yet hope. It is said that there is another way into the sealed city – a dark road beneath that goes through the uncharted depths of the earth. This expedition will be the one who will find that hidden road. This expedition will reclaim Dammerhall and restore dwarven glory, dispelling two hundred years of disgrace.
You have found an entrance into the darkness. Rumor speaks of a deep gnome village known as Fasturvalt where dwell the elusive svirfneblin, the deep gnomes. The first step is clear – Find Fasturvalt and secure a guide. Nothing will stop you in your quest. Nothing will stay your hand. This is your hour. This is the moment when the dwarven diaspora ends and where dwarven glory begins anew. In the realms below, you will make for yourselves and your people a Throne of Night.
Adventure, lunacy, hope, despair, fortune, annihilation... all await you within the underdark and upon your quest into it's all encompassing void. Through chance, desperation and resolve your party of dwarvenkind has taken upon itself to make one last attempt at the salvation of a legend among your kind... Dammerhall. Supplies have been purchased, farewells given to all kin... and the path lies before you.
Innocent enough are your first steps from the sun-burnt world into the chasm of darkness. A cavern whose floor is covered with bat guano and gently fading deeper and deeper towards it's back lies before you. Rumor holds that a tunnel ahead will lead down and deep towards the deep gnome redoubt of Fasturvalt. The path should intersect a major tunnel called The Gnome King’s Highway and Fasturvalt is to the east.
Dot.
Humming tunelessly to herself, Hilde makes her way gingerly across the guano-slicked cavern floor, wrinkling her nose at the smell and occasionally stomping on an overly-inquisitive arthropod. She glances up at the ceiling. "Whichever one of you recommended we enter at night, my thanks for your perspicacity. Trying to cross this while the inhabitants were in and eliminating would be even less pleasant."
Agna was disgusted at the environment she was being forced to trudge through as well. She did her best to not evidence weakness to the group, although she wanted nothing but to shower and clean herself. However, she would bear any nasty burden that bore the possibility of her reclaiming her family's throne, taken from them so many years ago.
"I'm sure The Gnome King’s Highway and Fasturvalt aren't far ahead. If this is the quickest way to get us where we need to go, I'd suffer 10 miles of bats."
A younger dwarf gazes about as the darkness closes about them. He slips the bandage off his eyes and the no longer squints in the bright light of the surface world.
"Fear not the guano, Angradd guides our steps!"
Hilde half-smiles, one corner of her mouth quirking upward. "Fear isn't exactly the emotion I was feeling, Master Padrym. Though I expect that there will be far worse than a few bad smells, bats, and bugs ahead of us...the ancient records that spoke of this road had a disturbing lack of specificity. At least, the ones which I was able to consult were not exactly forthcoming. What did the lore of Angradd have to say?"
"Angradd says avoid the bat poop and swing straight."
The young dwarf laughs heartily and readjusts his greataxe before stepping between piles of guano.
Nar walks through the guano as if he either didn't notice it or care about it. He keeps pace with Padrym keeping his eyes out for any trouble, "I care not where this leads to as long as it leads away from the humans." Nar's dislike of anything non dwarven is well known which is one of the reasons he jumped at the chance for this expedition.
Without too much fanfare, you begin the long descent down, down and down into the deep. The blackness of an abject lack of light swallows you whole within it - and you rely instead upon the darkvision gifted to your race. Unlike on the surface world, the limited depth of sight still provokes a feeling that elves or gnomes might label claustrophobic. But to dwarf-kind it is instead the solemn embrace of the earth... above, below and all around.
The path leads northwards for a fair distance - necessitating a camp be made and broken before you eventually come across a trade-way that runs West and East. Remembering your initial directions, you follow the tunnel Eastwards and trudge along at a slow yet purposeful pace.
After but three or four meandering miles the tunnel opens into a wider space. The route is still cut with wagon ruts and clear, but the chamber opens up to the North where a raised area is covered by stalacmites. Up ahead in the middle of the passage, there is a single broken wagon wheel.
Warily approaching and fearful of ambush or worse you make the wheel without issue. It is not made of wood, instead it is made of some strange fibrous white matter that is almost as hard as wood. The wheel has then been banded in crudely worked iron.
Hilde examines the wheel closely, but does not recognize the material it's constructed from (though she does jot a note or two to herself about it). She stands and looks around. "Do any of you happen to see any part of the axle?"
Perception
Untrained Know. Nature
"I don't see an axle. I wonder how a broken wheel got all the way over here?"
Padrym sets his gaze to the wheel and then the cavern.
"Mushroom wheel. Who uses those when they have all this stone? Should we search for them or carry on, might not be wise to leave an enemy at our back."
"Mushroom! Of course! If it's the deep gnomes, they're likely to think stone is too heavy. They're weaker than dwarfs, remember."
"Bah, they ain't carrying the wheels. That's why they're wheels. Mebbe the whole wagon was mushroom?"
"Interesting thought. It would be industrious, all right. I've never considered using one as a vehicle."
"You could also have a snack readily available if you get hungry. Take a bite out of your seat!"
With no other signs of interest, the hardened mushroom wheel is given due consideration before you continue on. Following the main trail curving around and into a tighter tunnel maybe fifty feet are stepped out before you note another point of interest.
A trail lies upon the wet floor of the cave... seemingly of a dragged creature larger than yourselves. The trail continues further and onwards to the East.
"Spiders, dragging some kind of beasts. Probably the ones hauling that wagon. We should go back and search the cavern or follow these tracks."
"Follow the tracks, I should say. I don't like knowing so little about this place, and maybe we can find some allies."
"Allies, here? If you say so Hilde, but I see no wagon tracks since the wheel, which means it's back in that cavern somewhere. Let's see if we can free whatever creatures use mushrooms as wheels."
"This seems like a wild goose chase to me. If they were able to drag off such a large creature, they were no doubt more powerful than us. I don't see how this advances our cause of finding our way back into the city whatsoever."
"We're going to have to persuade the deep gnomes to give us a guide; maybe we can find something here to help with that."
"Fair certain we're more powerful than some cows Agna. Remember I have trained to fight down here for a long time, and getting surrounded by unknown foes is not the path to victory."
Or Angradd's glory.
"I'm not so curious about the larger creatures as the small ones that were probably with them. If this wagon did belong to gnomes, they're probably in trouble. And if we're going to succeed with our task, we'll need their help. Let's continue on and see where they lead."
"Very well. I'd prefer to not tarry long, however as there is every possibility if there were gnomes, they are long gone one way or the other.". She falls in line behind the others, still not completely convinced of the necessity of following this path.
Resolving to follow the trail to the West, you begin cautiously trudging through the darkened tunnel - tracking the clear trail by darkvision. Though it is not long before a voice betrays a presence at your back. Emerging from where she lurks is a female svirfneblin who speaks pointedly but staccato like in Dwarven "Ivy my name... I watch you and listen, you want follow trail... Ivy saw everything that happen, could show you where wagon left, yes yes or no?"
Padrym looks to his companions before responding.
"Were you with the wagon?"
The svirfneblin nods "Was... hid to be safe."
"Ivy, who or what took your wagon?"
"And are there any more of you hiding or captured?"
"And how many of whatever it was attacked you?"
"Not Ivy's wagon... Gunther's... not Gunther's now though... Gunther's dead.
No more hiding, not sure if took ones dead or not. Wrapped up in web... not all wriggling... six ones... not count Ivy or Gunther.
More than one skis’raal come... like spider but bad-worse.. maybe two? Ivy too busy run away to look too close."
"You want for come back look wagon?"
"How long ago did this happen? There may be others left alive if we could find them"
Ivy cocks her head to one side "Not long... Ivy not needed to sleep yet since it happen."
"Lead the way then. Let us be ready."
"Let us venture forth to find your friends, Ivy, then we can come back to reclaim the wagon."
"Yes, by Torag, if they live, we will rescue them and if they die, we will see if we can rout these bad-worse spiders." Stáli casts lead blades and prepares to move forward.
Following the trail Eastwards, you find that Ivy lurks at the back of your convoy, quiet and skittish with eyes looking every-which way. Any loud sounds made drive her to a defensive posture and puts her back to the wall. After about four miles travelled you see the trail move North into a side passage off the main tunnel. Up ahead you can also see a offshoot tunnel to the South.
Perception for any tracks
"Did you venture this far looking for your group, Ivy? Everyone, make sure we do not get all turned around if the path starts veering in all directions."
"I'm not much good at tracking, but I'll help make sure we keep everyone together. See anything?"
"This seems a long way for bandits or animals to travel for a caravan."
"That really depends on what's in the caravan. In addition, this wouldn't be such a long way if we were above ground--I believe that we need to get used to thinking about distances down here the same way."
Ivy shakes her head to Agna's question.
Your distant investigation of the two tunnel offshoots proves unenlightening, and you'll need to pick one and move within to get any further insight.
"I have a small thought. If any of Ivy's companions managed to escape after she did, they might be lurking further up this way. Let's scout up ahead before we follow the tracks north. First, the main tunnel, and then the south branch."
"A good plan Hilde! Let's see what's ahead!"
"Fine by me. Stick with the main tunnel."