Session 3

Mount Mali, Part I
Having recovered from their encounter with the bandits, the adventurers continued to on toward Mount Mali. They were approached by two gray wolves. The rangers of the group, Fausto and Cora, used their knowledge of nature to ward off the wolves. However, the fleeing wolves alerted two nearby orc raiders, who proceeded to attack the group. The orcs were quickly pummeled by Taargus' maul, and the group arrived at the entrance to Mount Mali nearly unscathed.



They attempted to bring the runestone into the dwarven Hall of Ancestors, but were stopped by two guards at the door who refused entry to non-dwarves. They next went to the Hall of Commoners and tried their luck at convincing a dwarf to accompany them so they could have access. The inebriated dwarven citizen informed them that, as a member of the lower class, even he was not allowed into the Hall of Ancestors. When questioned about his knowledge of Rangrim Axeblade, he directed them to the archives in the Hall of Learning. There, they met Baern Mineshadow, who led the group through the massive library until they arrived at the records of the Axeblade family. Here, Baern informed the travelers that the Axeblades were once royalty, but they fell from grace, and the remaining ancestors resided in the slums of the Hall of Commoners. He gave them the address of Thogretor Axeblade, great-grandson of Rangrim, and the group made their way back to the crowded slum apartments.

They met with Thogretor Axeblade, who explained to them that his great-grandfather was a noble warrior and hero of the orc invasion nearly 500 years prior. After Rangrim single-handedly took out a battalion of orcs with his axe, he married Queen Helja Stoneheart and became king of Mali. He had one son - Thogretor's grandfather, Orsik - who took the throne after his father's death, but foolishly lost his father's runestone in a bet. Runestones are considered sacred to the dwarves, for they mark the tombs of the dwarven ancestors: the loss of Rangrim's runestone caused a scandal which cost Orsik (and the Axeblade family) the throne. The Strifeminer family usurped the throne and lead the dwarven people on a path that created a huge gap between the upper and lower classes. Orsik was outcast and shamed, and sent to live in the newly-created slum district. Upon finding out that the visitors had with them the lost runestone of his family, Thogretor became hopeful. He asked the adventurers to help him restore his family name's former glory and bridge the gap between the classes, and promised to reward them once he took back the throne.

Thogretor lead the group to the Hall of Aristocracy, where they could petition King Gradak Strifeminer for entrance into the Hall of Ancestors. The always-charming Lady Caraga convinced the king's guards to allow them to meet with the king. They began to state their case to the dwarven leader, but he interrupted them and told them in no uncertain terms that cared little about the problems of the lower class. Trying to wave the group out of his hair, he agreed to give them access to the Hall of Ancestors, provided they helped him take care of an "orc problem" in the gemstone mines.

The gemstone mines were indeed full of orcs, but the team tore their way through, defeating all the orcs in their path. Fausto tailed the party, picking off enemies from the shadows, while Taargus plowed ahead, setting enemies afire with his Dragon Breath. Twitch and Lady Caraga were able to spot some loose gemstones from the piles of rubble, and Twitch even found a discarded Frost Warpick amongst the minecarts. Cora generously shared with her teammates the loot she picked off of her fallen foes. Upon reaching the final room in the mine, the group encountered the fearsome Orc Eye of Gruumsh. Working together, they were able to dispatch the brute, and Lady Caraga nabbed his Lifedrinker Spear. Battle-worn, the heroes made their way out of the mines and back to the king...

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