After breaking camp, Goomy spots a familiar silhouette flying in the distance from the North. After studying its path for a while, Goomy concludes that Tinder is heading back toward the Valley of Lost Honor. He urges the group to gather their things and begin traveling along the road. Shortly thereafter, a small group of albino dwarves hails the party. Their leader, Sithi Vinecutter, introduces herself. According to Sithi, she has been guarding Hrakhamar as best as she can in the century since it was abandoned. Her group has harried firenewts as best they can, but they have never had the numbers to retake the forge.
Sithi takes umbrage at Musharib–a city-dwelling albino dwarf–attempting to reclaim Hrakhamar.
Sithi eyes the group, and decides that they may possess the skills to retake the forge from the firenewts. In return, she offers what information she can about the forge, and pledges to guard the entrance to prevent firenewts from returning or entering the forge behind the party. She pledges twenty Hrakhamar ingots of adamantine as a reward for freeing the forge from firenewt control. Musharib and Sithi advise that the forge connects to Wyrmheart Mine via tunnels. Musharib muses that Kyer Wyrmheart, a bastard of a dwarf with a penchant for feeding those he didn’t like to dimetrodons, once owned Wyrmheart Mine. Tinder has since laid claim to the mine (and Hew Hackinstone’s arm).
The group descends into Hrakhamar to be greeted by intolerable heat and hammering. The group explores smoke-filled caverns to their west, attempting to find the source of a light. The smoke is thick and choking. The group relents and decides to regroup. Doz leads them to the left to a view of the magma cavern. From their vantage point, a stone trestle and several large chains mark the only paths across the magma. The group decides to explore the western mine cart path to find a back route to the smelter.
At the mine cart junction, they find two small caves covered in filth–makeshift prison cells. They discover two dwarves, tied, bound, and gagged. They bear the marks of torture, and are emaciated and dehydrated. The group frees them and offers some water. The first dwarf introduces himself as Laz Drumthunder. The second dwarf swallows a gulp of water, then begins screaming at the top of his lungs!
Goomy quickly reties the gag and consults the group on what to do next. Did the firenewts hear the dwarf’s screams, or did the rhythmic hammering drown them out?
The group cautiously ventures north across the river of magma via mine cart trestle. Shadows dance ahead from their flickering torch, betraying the presence of inhabitants in the caves beyond. The firenewts have refitted the small mining cart depot as a pen for their giant strider mounts, and the creatures are none too happy to see intruders in their midst. The group retreats and reconsiders their options. They decide to silence the giant striders and sneak past through a secondary tunnel.
In a moment’s respite, the group formulates a plan of attack and then quickly adopts a full frontal assault instead. The firenewts are caught off-guard, and the heroes press the advantage. Several firenewts flee to the armory while the remainder grab makeshift weapons to fend off the intruders. The battle shifts toward the mine cart depot as the party attempts to box the firenewts in. Beyond, the penned giant striders lash out as they see their firenewt masters endangered. The simple tethers fail, and the giant striders launch themselves at their prey. Now on the defensive, the party fights back fiercely, holding the line while Sin can get line up a lightning bolt. Flavius and Simon coordinate their assaults, felling the last of their foes.
The thrill of victory subsides quickly, for the group realizes the hammering from the rooms beyond the smelter has ceased. Have the firenewts been warned of the party’s intrusion?
Goomy spots several figures dashing through the forge into the armory, and the group rallies to intercept them at the door. Four armed firenewts attempt to force their way past, but the group corners the firenewts and lets Therdek loose on them. The group managed to withstand the firenewts’ fiery assault. They clear the armory and prepare to assault the forge. Doz forces open the door to the forge, where seven firenewts lay in wait. Flavius attempts to knock the firenewts off their feet by rolling in a barrel, and Doz takes the opportunity to crush one of the tripped firenewts. Sindy unleashes a series of shatter spells, but Doz eventually succumbs to the firenewts’ counterattack. Goomy fells another two of the firenewts from coordinated attacks with his spiritual weapon and his longbow. Simon falls to coordinated fire breath attacks, and Therdek leaps into the fray, unleashing his fury as best he can. In a final desperate push, the party slays the last of the firenewts.
Goomy and Musharib tend to Doz and Simon. As the group begins to assess the situation, Goomy can hear stirring from the store rooms beyond the forge. The group prepares for a subsequent attack.
Musharib lays out the area, and a plan begins to form. Sin gathers the latent energies of the Weave to cast her most powerful spell: lightning bolt. Doz kicks open the door, revealing the store room hallway and tosses Sin with all his might. Goomy raises his shield and braces at the door. Sindy lands behind the firenewts as they spill into the hallway and unleashes a lightning bolt, carefully shielding Goomy from its effects. Four of the firenewts are strewn across the corridor, faces twisted in shock. Five more respond with surprise as the group closes in on them. Sin pushes the firenewts into a kill box with a thunderwave spell, and Flavius fells two outright with deft knife tosses. Doz throws Therdek as a weapon, and then Therdek unleashes his rage.
62nd Day 15 Flamerule 1492 cont’d: A moment later, and Therdek performs a symphony of gore, cleaving the remaining firenewts limb from limb. The group takes a moment to relax and savor victory until Goomy hears voices from the caves across the river of magma. The voices grow to a crescendo of shouts echoing from the caves. What awaits the party? Can they withstand another wave of firenewts?
Beaten, battered, bruised, and burned, the group decides to retreat. As they barrel toward the trestle, a pair of firenewts spot them and shout an alarm. The group rushes toward the exit, but the firenewts manage to cut off Doz with a ball of fire. Sindy remains with Doz and attempts to cut off the remainder of the firenewts. The group attempts to fight off the firenewts after Sin tosses them into the magma with a thundering attack. Doz gathers his strength and leaps over the fireball, then leads the group to rescue the albino dwarves. Sin stands firm against the charging firenewts, keeping them at bay before slaying them with thunderous magic. Goomy, Therdek, and Musharib finish off the other firenewts, and the group retreats to the pale sunlight of the Valley of Lost Honor.
There, Sithi and her fellow warriors are tossing firenewt corpses into a pile. The group discusses their plans and intervene as Sithi continues to cajole Musharib.