The day has been clear and sunny, but as the time for the audience approaches, heavy clouds gather above the city. Thulaxavan's house is rather large (by bronze age standards), but its furnishings are spartan. Thulaxavan himself is bedridden; two Healers are caring for the rapidly ailing high priest, and will help him into his chair, wrapping him in blankets. He's been in bad shape before, but this time it looks like a real crisis. After greeting his guest(s), he starts talking about himself and his youth. This goes on for some time, with digressions into trivia (why it's a bad idea to eat brastberries in storm season) or theology (why Barntar's sister didn't dance). As he speaks, a storm gradually builds outside, the wind finally making the house shake. Thulaxavan will ignore attempts to interrupt him. Instead, he will praise the listening abilities of all present, stating that he really needs a listener: Simbol was a good listener but Tradog sure wasn't, he never listened, just did as he pleased and see what happened.
Now the reason for this meeting starts to surface. Thulaxavan is still somewhat incoherent, but a few facts will become clear. Tradog Crystalface was one of Thulaxavan's friends about 80 years ago. Apparently he was a fanatic, irresponsible, wilful, lazy, egoistic, boisterous, good-for-nothing wastrel. What's more, he never listened. Despite all the negative definitions, there is no mistaking high priest's fascination and friendship with this wayward rune lord. Before Tradog disappeared, Thulaxavan vowed to look after his descendants. One of these has now disappeared: Ugunya Blazeface, a female copy of her great-grandfather. Thulaxavan wants the party to find her; he will name any player characters not present and demand that they be included in the group. He will then change the subject again, blathering on about wind children at Timba and Thundercomb.
As one particularly violent gust of wind hits the house, Thulaxavan falls silent. He remains sitting quietly, with eyes closed, for a moment, then abruptly stands up. His posture is erect and there is a new light in his eyes. He tells the adventurers to follow him, in a much clearer and stronger voice than before. Brushing aside the healers, he buckles on his sword and cloak, striding out into the storm. Anyone following him will have serious problems keeping their feet, but the wind doesn't seem to bother Thulaxavan at all. He walks straight up the hill towards the temple, going round in back of the main temple building. Stopping in front of a low wooden framework, he hands the party leader a small shell, saying that it is for use in extreme emergencies only. Then he stretches himself out on the platform. As the storm abates for a moment, he states that those he has appointed to this mission must complete it, or he will not be accepted by Orlanth. Thunder rolls again, the centre of the storm approaching rapidly. When it passes directly overhead, a tremendous bolt of lightning strikes, knocking everyone out cold.
They awake the following morning to clear skies, with no sign of the storm, Thulaxavan or anything else they might expect. Three cats sit nearby, gazing quizzically at them.
The Orlanth Temple: Most of the orlanthi know nothing at all. A few old-timers can vaguely recall a Tradog Crystaleater that was excommunicated by Thulaxavan's predecessor, but don't remember any specifics. The Storm Voices, especially the top brass, are much too busy coping with the loss of their high priest to waste time on a bunch of initiates babbling about some 'mission'. If Jalunia is part of the group, there is the added problem that neither Espelin or Sionda really care for her - she was one of Thulaxavan's favourites, and now they're trying to promote their own people. Jagalen is the exception, he can always spare some time to listen to other people's problems. And as a matter of fact, he has some useful information: he knows that an Orlanth initiate by the name of Ugunya checked into the temple two weeks ago. She was accompanied by three other orlanthi, and they were very tight-lipped about their business. He also knows that they were lodging at the Yodeling Vampire.
The Lhankor Mhy Temple: For an administrative fee of 30 silvers, a clerk will look through the city records and come up with the following: Tradog Crystalface, a k a Crystaleater, born 1520 in Kilwin, acquired Wind Lord status in 1544, last heard from 1549. Married to Selniothe, a priestess of Chalana Arroy, they had one daughter.
The Sages will not release any information about Tjunda's Hill to the public, but if the party includes an accredited scholar or is friends with one (e g Sojan Acidpen) they can gain access to the library. Amidst a morass of empirical data (travelogues, interviews) and sagely gobbledigook, there is the information that Tjunda was a minor Earth goddess, slain during the Great Darkness. All that now remains of her are the name and the hill, and for some reason these are often connected with God Learners.
The Chalana Arroy Temple: Selniothe is long dead, her daughter Taughda moved to Naskorion. Making a small contribution to the temple greatly speeds up the process of learning these facts.
The Yodeling Vampire: Nydag is well aware that four adventurers stayed here a few nights, about two weeks ago. They were headed eastward, but he is unaware of their destination. He seems slightly uncomfortable about this whole business, and will if questioned further explain that they were unable to pay their bill and left some gear as security until their return. The stuff consists of:
* A battle axe of unknown origin. If someone in the party knows anything about dwarfs or weaponsmithing, this person can declare it to be of mostali manufacture.
* A sack of bronze junk - about 4 enc.
* A bronze plate helm, split down the middle.
Fring the string: Knows what most of the Kilwin underworld knows; a certain Tradog Crystaleater was known for selling crystals at low prices on the black magic-market. This was, oh, 50 years ago, maybe even further back.
Gargen: The only person in Kilwin who knows where Ugunya and her pals have gone off to. If Nydag is asked for a list of people living at the inn during the time Ugunya stayed there, Gargen and Dersog will naturally be included. Whenever the PCs decide to have a word with him, he will be on duty at the brewery. Ardol (the brewer) is very suspicious of people talking to his guards. Note that Jalunia will not voluntarily admit her connection to Gargen and Dersog.
What happened to Gargen is that he was passed out in the Yodeling Vampire (after partying up his salary) a couple of weeks ago, when this big woman shook him into some semblance of consciousness. Her questions seemed very strange and it took a while for him to grasp what she wanted. She was offering a handful of silvers for information on where to find Tumsland and Tjunda's Hill. Gargen was feeling grumpy about having his slumber disturbed, so he replied by asking who she was. Her name was Ugunya, but she was known as Blazeface, she said, whereupon she repeated her questions. Wanting to get rid of this nuisance, Gargen informed her that Tjunda's Hill lies a day's travel north of Istakax, in an area called Tumsland. Ugunya asked more questions about Istakax, what the area looks like, who lives there etc, at which point Gargen's recollection fades. This whole incident is very hazy in his mind, and he hasn't given it any thought since it happened.
Day 1: Nothing special. Just farmers and a few warriors.
Night 1: Yawn.
Day 2: A tracking roll will inform the PCs that trolls and giant insects have passed this way.
Night 2: Some orlanthi hunters ask if they can share the campfire. They know nothing of importance to this scenario.
Day 3: The party overtakes a (human) trading caravan with several wagons and guards. Among other things, they have a caged satyr. The traders will freely explain that they are headed for Istakax; the satyr is for sale to the arena master.
Night 3: Howling can be heard in the distance - as of wolves, but somehow subtly different. Someone who has encountered werewolves might find it familiar. At any rate, the mournful sound does not come any closer, and eventually fades.
Day 4: A very slow caravan of dragonewts can be seen, travelling parallel to the party. All the dragonewts are beaked or crested, but they have a triceratops and a covered wagon pulled by newtlings with them.
Night 4: The appointed leader of the party (whether a PC or NPC) has a strange dream. At the GMs option, the affected character can wake up bigger, stronger, more skilled, with more spells or whatever suits the campaign - the point is to make the players feel that something extraordinary has happened. The dream:
"A strong, yet pleasant and refreshing wind blows into your face. You are standing, naked, on a seemingly endless moor. The sky is covered with clouds that gather into more and more solid masses before your eyes. A heavy squall suddenly blows against you, but you manage to stand upright. From the eye of the rapidly brewing storm, a giant cat leaps. The cat, larger than a sabretooth, comes closer and you can spot a chariot without wheels behind it. In this chariot stand two men, a shorter one holding the reins of the bizarre beasts pulling it, and a taller one with a golden torc around his neck. Both men are muscular and bare-chested. The cat swerves to one side of you and disappears, but the chariot pulls up right in front of you and the man with the torc begins to speak. When you awake, you have no memory of what was said; only that it affected you deeply."
Day 5: Arrival.
When the prisoners are freed, they will of course be very grateful. Most of them are farmers from the Istakax region, and can scrape together a reward of 100 silvers or so, if the party is greedy enough. Ugunya and her friends are, like so many adventurers, flat broke. But Ugunya can at least explain what is going on. Her great-grandfather was an expert on magical crystals and a collector as well - but not a hoarder, he only wanted the opportunity to see and touch the drops of divine blood. Blazeface (so named for her intense expressions) has spent many years trying to discover what his fate was. Her research finally led her to the right place, but she hadn't counted on finding anyone still there. During the time of imprisonment she has learned that the dwarf leader, Tradog's bane, is known as Ironshield. Apparently this person is in Istakax with someone called Dragonslayer. Ugunya is going after Ironshield as soon as she can get hold of a weapon. Her companions are too exhausted to follow, but Ugunya seems to possess unlimited energy and confidence. Furthermore, she appears deaf to objections. The more she talks, the more listeners should be reminded of Thulaxavan's description of Tradog. If the PCs take their mission seriously, they should feel responsible for her well-being and tag along. The stuff at the Yodeling Vampire? Oh, that's just mementoes of a little scrape they had with some dwarfs at Bad Deal.
You want to know what the shell does? Well, that depends. It could simply be of symbolic value, if you feel the party is tough enough to handle this scenario without any more divine help. As an alternative, you could let the River give them a helping hand when they're in a tight spot. Make it something appropriate, something mystical and of course, something to do with Water. But only once: the shell shatters into fine dust after use.
2. Dwarf guards.
3. Entrances.
4. Cavern with some mining and other equipment (including cans of dwarf food) lying neatly stacked along the walls. There is also a good deal of high-grade copper ore awaiting transport elsewhere: 200 enc of rocks, from which at most 50 enc of copper could be extracted (assuming highly skilled workers using the most advanced techniques available in the Wilds).
5. The off-shift dwarfs' quarters. Mostali don't have much in the way of personal possessions, so PCs looking for plunder will be disappointed.
6. Room where prisoners sleep. One dwarf stands guard outside during the night shift. The 'door' consists of planks nailed together, wedged into the opening and secured with a bronze bar that is lodged in two outcroppings of rock.
7. The current excavation (going down). Three dwarfs and Iggor is the minimum complement. During daylight hours the slaves and their guard will also be here.
2. Cells for humans, small animals and others in that size range.
3. Cell for large animals.
4. Stairs to and from main hall. This is a narrow, spiralling, bronze contraption with a gliding pole in the centre.
5. Chains that are used for locking up the guard bear each morning. It may be worth noting that the bear is too wide to enter the corridor leading off from the hall.
6. Ironshield's smithy. The 'secret door' is simply a thin wooden wall, disguised as rock from the dungeon side. Ironshield also sleeps down here.
7. Ironshield's forge and anvil. He mostly works here at night.
8. Storage shelves. Gear taken from Ugunya and her comrades is piled here, along with some ingots of metal (10 enc bronze, 6 enc copper) and a few magic items that Ironshield seldom carries with him: A sheet of untempered iron (15 x 15 cm, very thin) with matrices for Fend Blow, Stabilize Weapon (both at Intensity 12) and all sorcerous enchantment spells (no extra intensity); a POW 1 sensitivity crystal (he can't use it himself and his allies already have better crystals attuned, so he's waiting for a chance to sell it); a flint-studded leather bracer with matrices for Ironhand 4 and Strength 2 (he got it on his latest journey here, off some hsunchen that started an argument about his right of passage, and hasn't figured out what to do with it yet).
9. Piles of coal.
10. A (stone) staircase leading to a small, unused room that is only connected to Eagin's private chambers. The room does have a chimney - this is how fumes from the smithy are vented out.