Session 7 Summary

Returning to Base

The heroes left the Temple of Eyes to find Terrlen waiting for them outside. He was relieved to see the heroes, but also looked rather sickly. The party again questioned his health, but Terrlen insisted that he just needed some rest and that he'd get some sleep upon returning to the Seven-Pillared Hall. The trip back was quick and the heroes went about their business in town. They headed for Halfmoon Tavern to speak with Rendil about the note they found on Krand. Along the way, the heroes happened to run into Harwin. Harwin approached the heroes and asked how things went with their recent expedition. Mialee detailed their current situation and asked if he knew anything about Murkelmore Gimmerzhul. Harwin said that he hadn't heard the name before and went on his way. The heroes continued into the tavern and found Rendil. Rendil informed them that Murkelmore Gimmerzhul was in charge of a clan of duergar and had dealt with the local Gimmerzhul Trading Post in town. He suggested the heroes check there for more answers. The heroes decided to sleep on it and stayed at the tavern for the night.

The Trading Post Incident

The next morning, they headed over to the Gimmerzhul Trading Post and knocked on the door. A duergar slid the little eye-slit thing open and asked what they wanted. The heroes responded that they simply wanted to come in and look at their wares, but duergar wasn't having any of it. He essentially told the heroes to hork off. The heroes realized that the trading post had probably been informed of their intentions. Mialee recalled seeing Harwin head off in the direction of the post and it became clear that he was no longer to be trusted. The heroes needed a plan to somehow enter the trading post, but they recalled that the Ordinators were around, so it couldn't be blatantly obvious. After some "creative" thinking, the valiant heroes decided that Travok and Mialee would create a large disturbance in the center of town while Merryweather and Chase broke into the trading post. The Judge refused to take part in such shenanigans. Travok and Mialee strolled over to the center of town, where Travok promptly cast a prestidigitation spell on himself to appear as if he had been set on fire. He ran around screaming and Mialee also yelled for help. Brugg, seeing the signs of distress, ran over to investigate. However, Mialee decided that tripping the ogre would be a good idea and Brugg went barreling into Travok, knocking them both into the nearby underground river. Travok was able to swim to safety, but poor Brugg loudly admitted that he was unable to swim. Travok and Mialee decided to help him despite the ruckus he had caused earlier at the tavern. The mishap actually worked out well because Travok was able to make it look like the river doused his burning clothes rather than simply dismissing the spell. Meanwhile, Merryweather successfully picked the lock on the front door of the trading post and he and Chase found the place deserted. The duergar appeared to have taken everything of value and run out through a back door. The heroes quickly regrouped and found Terrlen Darkseeker, or "Leatherface," which the heroes had become accustomed to calling him. Leatherface agreed to track the duergar through Thunderspire Labyrinth and assured the heroes that he knew enough shortcuts to easily catch up with them. The heroes, accompanied by Terrlen, set out to chase down the fleeing duergar.

The Hunt is On

Leatherface lived up to his reputation and led the heroes through countless side passages through the labyrinth, eventually reaching a main passage. He informed the heroes that the trading post thugs would be passing by in a minute or two and to prepare for a fight. He also reminded the heroes that he would stick around behind the scenes, but that he would not participate in the ensuing fight. The heroes waited for the duergar from the trading post to approach, and then jumped out, blocking their path. Harwin was also with the duergar and, upon seeing the heroes, immediately sprinted in the opposite direction. The heroes would have to go through the group of duergar in order to chase him down, so they instead began to ask the shop supervisor, Kedhira, some questions. Mialee asked what they were doing out in the middle of the labyrinth like this and why they were in such a hurry. Kedhira responded that they were simply on a trade route and had some business with a client. Mialee continued to pry, asking who the client was and what they were trading. Kedhira continued to give obviously false answers and it became clear the heroes were not getting any information out of her. Unsurprisingly, the heroes decided that violence was the answer and attacked. The four duergar warriors ran up and engaged the heroes, swinging warhammers and shooting beard spikes (?!) at them. The heroes were surprised at the unconventional attack, but engaged the duergar nevertheless. Kedhira stayed behind the frontline and attempted to cast some powerful spells at the heroes, but didn't seem to have much luck. The duergar fought fiercely, but the heroes overcame them and incapacitated Kedhira. After some more threats and questioning, Kedhira finally admitted that the trading post staff had been informed about the heroes by Harwin. They had packed up and left and were heading to the Horned Hold, where Murkelmore Gimmerzhul was running the show. Satisfied with her answers, the heroes tied up Kedhira and strangely decided to put her in a closet way back inside the Chamber of Eyes. The party split up, half going to the Chamber of Eyes, and half tracking Harwin with the aid of Leatherface. Leatherface easily tracked Harwin, but suddenly came to dead stop. Harwin's tracks simply ended. They didn't become harder to follow or change direction; they just stopped. Dumbfounded, the heroes regrouped back in the Seven-Pillared Hall and decided what to do next. They asked Rendil to watch the main entrance to make sure Harwin didn't pass by, and decided to head out to the Horned Hold to bust up Murkelmore Gimmerzhul and the duergar. Leatherface agreed to escort them there and the heroes struck out for the fortress, but not before stopping at the Chamber of Eyes to check on Kedhira. Predictably, her closet had been blasted to pieces and she was gone. The heroes shrugged and moved on.

The Horned Hold

The trip was longer than the heroes had previously traveled and Terrlen soon became rather pale. The heroes questioned him and he replied that he didn't feel very well. Terrlen's health continued to deteriorate as they traveled and the heroes told him to stop and take a rest while they continued on using a map. Leatherface agreed, admitting that there must be something wrong with him. The heroes approached the Horned Hold and were impressed by its immensity.


Merryweather scouted ahead and saw that the hold's entrance was barred by a portcullis with some orcs lounging around behind it. The heroes surprisingly decided to try to bluff their way in instead of simply breaking through. The heroes (minus the Judge) all disguised themselves as slaves and Mialee acted as a trader. They approached the portcullis and Mialee attempted to convince the orcs that she had some slaves to sell. The orc checked his schedule and saw that no trades were being made today and became suspicious. He told her to leave the slaves there and leave and they would inspect them. Realizing that this plan would not work, the Judge lifted up the portcullis and a battle ensued. The orcs were no match for the heroes and were easily overcome by Travok's stinking cloud spell. Having cleared the entrance, the heroes proceeded into the forge. Upon entering, the master blacksmith, Urwol, shouted a battle cry and another battle began. This battle was harder, as the forgemaster began to shoot fire out of his giant hammer (?!) at the heroes, and more beard spikes flew. Urwol continued to blast fire at the heroes in different forms but the heroes eventually took him down. Upon being mortally wounded, Urwol gazed up into the air and screamed and fire rained everywhere in the room, scorching everything. The heroes were burned, but emerged victorious. They searched the forge and strangely found the scepter that Gendar had described to them. Confused, the heroes remembered that Gendar had told them to go to the Chamber of Bone, a horrid place filled with undead. Making a note to question him about that later, they grabbed the scepter. Taking a short breather, the heroes must now press further into the Horned Hold to find and defeat Murkelmore Gimmerzhul.