The Dauntless II

An ethereal voice sounds from behind you. "Thou art on the correct path, in more ways than one, though thy conclusion is far too simplistic." Turning you see a wispy figure, barely visible in the light, of an old, balding dwarf with copper skin and a magnificent white beard. He bows cordially at the waist. "Apologies if mine appearance hath startled you."

Antoinette turns around with a mix of suspicion and interest. "Who are you? More importantly, what do you know?"

"Argrek Dawnhammer," the ghostly dwarf answers, rising from his bow. "Advisor to Old King Harral and majordomo of the City's Whispers. To answer thy question, I know many things, of which I will not share, for they are secrets of the city. I come not to feast upon your souls, but to bear a message from my king, the rightful ruler of Saggorak, Old King Harral. His eyes peer from every shadow, and he has seen your strength as you wander our city. He wishes to offer you information and allies in exchange for your assistance in laying a usurper low. You would be wise to come with me, and be honored, for the Old King does not often issue summons!”

Dorrak regards the wraith coolly for a moment. "If this is some kind of trick to lure us into a trap, that will be a mistake that you will have but a few seconds to regret. However, we do lack both information and allies beyond the walls of Kovlar."

"Thou hast more wisdom than those of the Living District," Argrek says sagely, stroking his beard. "Come with me. If you wish for information, I will answer your questions, though I may not speak completely freely."

"This usurper," Dorrak begins, "What can you tell us about them?"

"A dragon," Agrek says, his misty voice almost dropping to a growl. "Made of molten earth, who attacked the city years ago. He brought the Starved under his heel, and broke the loyalty of the Bound, though they no more serve him than the true king. Only the Whispers and the Armored remain loyal to his service. He attempted to incinerate the Old King when he invaded, but Harral is forever, and will stand so long as the city stands."

"Could you explain more about the Starved, Bound, Whispers, and Armored? If you say you support Harral, that must mean you're a Whisper," Dorrak asks. "And the Starved being the sort of beings we've fought so far around here?"

"The Starved are undead built from flesh, and, as a result, they are chained to their own hunger to devour flesh. This makes them weak of will, and easy to manipulate. The Bound are the lamentable echoes of yesterday. They lack the bodies or the will to serve any but their own sorrow. The Old King protects them, but they do not return this with gratitude. Yet the Old King does not hold this against the Bound, for he understands they are lost. The Armored were once the smallest, yet strongest of us, the risen of the Old King's greatest knights, until the Usurper destroyed their bodies and cast their armor into magma. Now only four remain, the Harral's honor guard, sworn to remain at his side until the earth itself crumbles. And the Whispers..." Agrek smiles wryly. "We are the silent ones who watch over the city. The Old King's eyes and ears. There is nothing that comes to pass in Saggorak that the king does not know of."

Agrek leads you through the winding streets for several miles. Ordinarily, in each of your experiences, the king's castle is one of it not the largest building in the city, but where you're heading it's impossible to see anything that stands out. The reason for this becomes clear when you arrive. The palace of the Old King is a mere shadow of its former self, a base and foundation of what was once clearly a masterpiece of dwarven architecture towering over the rest of this district, but which has crumbled significantly from time, decay and neglect. What remained after all these centuries has been ruined further still, visibly melted down and reduced to slag, until all that remains is shattered walls and a single great hall, standing unblemished amongst this destruction. You enter what was once a resplendent throne room, though the banners on the walls have become tattered and torn while the pillars and pedestals lining the room, which would have once held valuable trophies and symbols of conquest, now hold only melted and charred pieces. At the end of the long hall, a set of stone steps lines the edge of a dais, upon which stand four figures stand fully encased in armor, each one carrying a different weapon-a greatsword, a sword and shield, a halberd, and a maul. Behind them, at the very rear of this once-grand throne room, a high stone chair topped with the symbol of Torag bears the Old King himself. A near-skeletal dwarven man with pale, paper-thin skin, sunken eyes that glow like emeralds in the darkness, with a long silvery beard. He sits with an oddly casual rigidity, and regards you as you enter, but makes no move, seeming to expect you to present yourselves to him before he will speak.

Antoinette bows, displaying her knowledge of courtly graces and mannerisms. "Greetings, your majesty. I am Antoinette of house Valois. These are my fellows, Dorrak Hakdarson, Suki Redscale, and Django Lovell. We have come at your behest since we seem to share a common foe. Apologies that my manners are indicative more of human culture than your own. I have never had audience with a dwarven king."

The Old King leans forward slightly, his expression unchangingly grim. "Ya speak with the grace of nobility, lass. 'tis close enough ta count. Ah welcome ya to the hall of mah ancestors, what was once the center of the greatest city on Golarion, where Ah have sat for two thousand years. Indeed, Ah've brought ya here because Ah believe ya can aid Saggorak in its time of need, as Ah never could, and Ah believe it would be in yer best interests as well."

Antoinette begins to respond, then her jaw drops slightly as Django sends her a message. She composes herself quickly though. "What can you tell us of this Usurper that may aid in stopping him, your majesty?"

"Straight to the point, eh? Yer already better at dwarven diplomacy than most human diplomats Ah've met." Harral casts his gaze to the side, where one of the few windows in here looks out over the city of Saggorak. "You hunt a group of humans called the Scarlet Triad, led by a traitor to mah people, who are workin' with the usurper Veshumirix fer reasons Ah cannot ascertain. Years ago, when he found his way to the city an' rained fire upon it, Ah came out ta challenge him mahself, hopin' ta either slay him and save the city, or else ta find peace in a warrior's death. Instead, Ah found mahself restored here, havin' lost both mah crown and mah pride. Ah cannot defeat him. Ah believe you can. And Ah will help ya ta reach the Temple of All Gods an' destroy both Veshumirix and the Scarlet Triad here."

"All we can tell you about the Scarlet Triad is that they're a group of slavers masquerading as a merchant company, and they had some kind of interest in the past in awakening an avatar of Dahak, which may be a possible link between them and Veshumirix, but beyond that we're as in the dark as you as to what their interest in Saggorak is," Dorrak adds. "How can you help us get rid of them?"

"To go directly to the Temple, as you were, is foolish," the Old King says, his eyes growing scornful at the thought. "Veshumirix makes his lair there, and so the Starved congregate. You are more than a match for their weakest, the middling, simpering creatures that exist throughout the city and on the outskirts, but as you come closer, you will be forced to contend with the devourers, vampire lords, and other stronger members of the Starved, and eventually, they will overtake you. Ah believe ya would benefit from taking two tactics before going there.

"The first is to mitigate the other forces standing against you, the Bound. They do not listen to me, but they also still respect mah station. If ya were ta recover a piece of mah regalia, it would show ya ta be friend of Saggorak, and they wouldnae bother ya. To mah knowledge, though, the only thing left that shows mah station remains in the Royal Manor, mah home away from home not far from here. The second would be ta cut off the Starved at the head. Falrok, the traitorous ghast that swore the Starved ta Veshumirix, hides hiself away in their Sanctum. If ya were ta kill him, the Starved would instantly know, an' turn inward on themselves to vie for leadership, leavin' ya free ta go forth. Ah dinnae think ya need ta do both, but Ah offer ya these suggestions fer how ta avoid becomin' mah subjects."

"Merci for the advice. I think it likely we will attempt both tactics. The less resistance on the way to the Usurper, the better," Antoinette replies. "How would we get to the locations you speak of?"

The Old King nods to Agrek, who hovers in the back of the room. "Mah advisor'll guide ya. May Torag protect ya."

Agrek leads you to the edge of the city a few hours away, where a deep mine looms. The dwarven wraith bows and promises to await you here until either you either return triumphant or your ghastly corpses stagger out. The interior of the mine is pitch dark, although Django's magic is able to light up the entire place. Mine cart tracks crisscross the relatively level floor of this cavern, while the walls of the place are streaked with crusty black ribbons of grainy, stone-like material. An ancient mine cart lies on its side on the tracks, its contents strewn on the ground. Three great dwarven statues stand guard here, clearly stone guardians like the ones that guarded the Hidden Forge, but these are different, made of a darker stone marbled with veins of softly glowing bone-white. Regardless of what their differences are, they notice your entrance, and move to attack.

The group quickly readies to fight the guardians like they had many before, but find that this group are empowered with negative energy that causes necrosis in wounds. Nonetheless, the fight seems manageable until a giant skeleton lumbers forth, emitting an aura of hunger. It sprays the entire group with a breath of bone shards, then grabs Dorrak in its giant hand and attempts to eat him, something Django manages to prevent by keeping the half-orc alive with a reactive shield. Just as attacks on the gashadokuro seem close to felling it, a dwarven ghast bursts from the ground behind Django and sinks his teeth into him, paralyzing him and leaving him in need of rescue. The next seconds are a chaotic scramble to quickly bring the gashadokuro down and then move to defend Django, which barely succeeds with Antoinette scooping him up in her jaws and tossing him to Dorrak for healing. However, the ghast turns his frustration on Suki, swiftly paralyzing her and then bodily ripping her guts out, something that should clearly kill her. Seconds later though, with a green flash that seems to mend all her wounds, Suki rips into the ghast with her claws. Between the three attacking it, and with a regenerating Nova distracting the stone guardian, the ghast falls, and the guardian soon after.

At the fight's end, Dorrak doubles over against the wall, panting, "That was brutal. Damned ghast, since when could they burrow?"

"Who knows. He clearly was no ordinary ghast," Antoinette replies, slumping down against a wall. "I think he was our target. At least I hope he was. If something stronger than him is in here we might just be fucked."

Antoinette sits against the wall for a few moments, but something nags at her. She turns to Suki. "Suki what happened there? One moment I saw the ghast knocking you down and tearing at your organs. He was about to eat you. Then you were suddenly fine and stood back up in a flash of green light."

"Yeah, about that. It would seem I did in fact die, but of course, with, well, all of this," Suki waves her claws to indicate the entire city around them, "things just can't be that easy. So I kinda wound up before the old King and he and I had a conversation. Apparently he's looking to end his own undeath, and doesn't want to see the entire city razed to do so. He thinks if he can redeemed in the city's eyes it'll end his undeath without seeing the city destroyed, and is pretty sure that if he, or a champion of his, can see his usurper lain low, that might just do the trick," She explains. "So hey, since I was there, and we were kind of working on doing just that anyways, what the heck. Especially since it meant I could come back to work towards that, which may not have been a sure thing even if you all had managed without me. Apparently part of the curse down here is that if you rise as an undead, you can't be resurrected, and these things tend to be infectious," She continues. "So yeah, I'm back through old Harral's power. It's not exactly kind to living flesh, I have this feeling I may want to lay off Django's healing spells for a while, and of course I kinda have to see this through or else I'll join the King's undead Guard for all eternity, but hey, it kinda beats the alternative."

"Well that's... certainly something," Antoinette replies. "I suppose it beats the alternative."

”If we can end his undeath, what happens to you?” Dorrak asks. ”Does that free you, or will that end his power keeping you alive?”

"I'm not totally sure. The feeling I got was that if we end his undeath, our deal is complete and I go on living my life, but it's possible that I just drop dead. But hey, we do have that IOU from the Archmage, so as long as it doesn't just instantly turn me undead it should all turn out fine, I think," Suki replies.

"Here's hoping it works out then," Antoinette replies. "We should search the rest of this place after we finish patching up. There may be something valuable left here."

You search the place, finding a high grade adamantine pick and a note of some kind written in Dwarven before heading back to Kovlar to sleep off this terrible, terrible day.

The next "morning" (it is, in fact, a dwarven morning, but still the middle of the solar night) you awaken and head back into Saggorak to tackle the manor. This ruined stone manor once supported six small towers, designed to echo the architecture of a castle in miniature. One of these towers has crumbled, while another has collapsed, falling across the building and heavily damaging it. In contrast to the majority of the building, the southernmost room and towers are in perfect repair.

Warm, bright fires crackle in the cubbyholes of the two small turrets in this room. The walls are adorned with relief carvings depicting dwarves at various stages of the Quest for Sky. The two pillars are wrapped with lush tapestries woven with thread of gold, which beautifully catch the firelight.