The Magic Goes Away · Campaign Chronicle
Day 1
The Fall of the Safehold
The Safehold burns, an ancient terror tears through the training ground, and eight survivors descend into the forgotten dwarven underways.
- Party
- Asuran · Halen · Karl · Toby
- Route
- Safehold → Dwarven Underways
- Encounters
- Barbarians · Bulette · Ratmen · Remorhaz
← Read the Prologue: Before the Fall
The siege
Besieged
Dawn had barely broken when the Safehold came under attack. Barbarians poured through the outer defences, burning the palisades and driving the defenders back towards the training grounds. At their head was an unknown warrior in plain blackened plate, directing the assault with a discipline that stood out sharply against the savagery of the horde.
Halen met the attackers head-on with his greatsword, while Karl fought behind shield and bastard sword, trying to hold the defenders together. Toby worked from the edge of the battlefield with his bow, picking targets as they broke through the lines. Asuran stayed mobile, striking where he could and avoiding being pinned down.
The dwarven instructor continued fighting even after losing an arm, buying the surviving recruits more time. Karl saw the injury, but there was little chance to reach him before the battle changed completely.
The ground beneath the training yard suddenly began to shake.
From below
The Bulette
A Bulette erupted through the earth, scattering barbarians and defenders alike. The creature tore through the battlefield without distinction, its arrival turning an already collapsing defence into chaos. Karl narrowly avoided being overwhelmed by it, while Halen attacked it with his greatsword and Toby fired from range. Asuran concentrated mainly on staying clear of the creature's path.
“Not everything needs fighting,” Asuran observed.
Halen apparently disagreed.
The Bulette's passage shattered the training ground and exposed ancient dwarven works beneath the Safehold. With the barbarian commander still pressing the attack and the outer position lost, the survivors had little choice but to retreat underground.
Eight defenders escaped into the old dwarven tunnels, including Halen, Karl, Toby and Asuran.
The charge
The Red Gem
Before they descended fully, the mortally wounded dwarven instructor entrusted Karl with a red gem—a relic said to contain divine essence—and ordered the survivors to seek out the dwarves in the north. Whatever the phrase divine essence meant, the party did not yet understand its significance. The dwarf died shortly afterwards.
The burning Safehold was left behind.
The old dwarven passages were silent by comparison. The stonework was precise and ancient, and before long the survivors reached a fork. One route led towards metal rails while another continued deeper into the complex.
Rather than immediately taking the obvious route, the party investigated.
Asuran moved ahead with Toby supporting him. The passage opened into a large cavern crossed by a broad stone bridge. Toby found tracks that were clearly not human.
Karl's armour made stealth largely academic.
Asuran glanced back at him. “Subtle.”
The first poisoned dart struck Karl's shield moments later.
Fire on the bridge
The Ratmen
Ratmen emerged around the bridge, some clinging to the stonework while others moved through the surrounding passages. The party fought them across the bridge, with Halen and Karl holding the close fighting while Toby fired from range and Asuran worked around the edges.
The encounter became more dangerous when two additional ratmen appeared carrying an alchemical device: a metal-bound barrel fitted with pipes and nozzles, accompanied by flame.
Asuran attacked the container before they could use it properly.
The barrel ruptured.
Its contents covered both the ratmen and Asuran before catching fire. The ratmen were engulfed. Asuran was caught in the same blaze and had to tear away burning clothing and extinguish himself while the fight continued around him.
When the smoke cleared, the remaining attackers had lost their nerve. Two surviving ratmen threw down their weapons and groveled before the party. Beyond them, many more pairs of eyes watched from the darkness. The party had clearly encountered only part of a much larger clan.
Halen looked towards the watching shapes. “They seem friendly now.”
“Fear is often mistaken for friendship,” Asuran replied.
The party chose not to pursue the rest of the clan. The surviving ratmen were left behind and the group returned towards the rail line.
The northern road
The Remorhaz
At the tracks they rejoined Gerlik, their rail-cart pilot. Eight survivors and Gerlik continued north through the dwarven underways. The cart moved slowly through the darkness, its lanterns casting only a narrow pool of light along the abandoned rails.
After travelling for some time they encountered rubble scattered across the track and an enormous side passage freshly torn through the dwarven stonework. Something very large had made it.
The party stopped to investigate. At the back of the new passage their lights revealed a Remorhaz.
The enormous creature filled the tunnel, heat radiating from its body. A direct fight would have been extremely dangerous, and even Halen showed little enthusiasm for testing his greatsword against it.
Karl stepped forward. He spoke words the others did not understand. The Remorhaz stirred, its body glowing more strongly as it responded to him.
For several tense moments nobody moved.
Then Karl turned back to the others. “It will let us pass.”
No one was entirely sure how Karl knew that, or what had just occurred between him and the creature. Nobody argued.
The party returned to the rail-cart and continued north, carrying the red gem and the dwarven instructor's final instruction with them.