Ourn nods and heads back to his hole in the wall, coming back with a second hunk of hardtack while shaking his head. "It would seem that I don't have the required tools to open these up. I could have sworn I had a set in my pack. Ah well. I'll head back into the city proper and acquire what I'll need. Anyone care for anything while I'm out?".

Toben shakes his head. "Nothing comes to mind. Although, if you're heading into the city proper, it may be useful to give Plame's quarters a good once over before any sympathizers have the time to destroy any evidence."

Plame's quarters are not lived in and there is no indication that he ever entered the room.  Where he actually stayed is anybody's guess.

Supplies gathered, Ourn returns to the tower where Toben is working on dispelling the wards on the chests.  After a couple of days, a ton of effort, and Ourn getting paralyzed for six hours after a secondary ward that Toben missed went off, the chests are finally opened.

They are war chests.  Filled with coins bearing dark emblems, they are nonetheless valuable.  The least are gold, with some platinum, and not a few mithril coins.  All told, there is roughly 60,000 gold in the chests.  Buried within are a number of unique items:

Small Book of Glyphs - runic symbols stolen long ago from the ancient dwarves.  These glyphs can be temporarily forged onto armor, shields, or weapons for various effects.  Once the effect ends, the glyph vanishes and must be reforged.  Forging takes 10 hours minus the difference in Craft Glyph Skill vs. DC of the glyph, but a minimum of 1 hour.  There is a list of twenty [I will provide a list elsewhere.]

Steel Fans of Deflection - these two fans of steel blades are enchanted with a spell that grants the wielder a kind of haste that gives them the chance to deflect up to 10 incoming projectiles, including magical ones (magic missile, fireball, but not lightning bolt, rays, or cones).  The fans also grant a +2 bonus to rolls to deflect projectiles.  The roll for deflection with the fans is D20 + BAB + DEX + INT + 2 for the first, then a cumulative -1 for every projectile thereafter.  The roll opposes the attack roll of the launcher of the projectile.  For an additional -5 penalty, the wielder can deflect the projectile into a new target within half the original range of the projectile.

Lesser Necrotome - a small book of level 1-3 necromancy spells.

Lesser Thaumaturgy Tome - a small book of level 1-3 thaumaturgy (demon related) spells.

Four sets of manacles that give off powerful twin auras.  All give off an aura of binding and each gives off a second aura related to a primary material element (earth, fire, water, wind).

There is also a single thin book in the elder troll's chest that is nauseating to even look at.  It is covered in a type of leather and has been colored in all manner of blood: orc, troll, human, dwarven, etc. so that it is a red so dark that it is almost black.  Toben suggests locking that one back in the elder troll's chest and keeping it hidden in the tower.  He argues that it is evil and the magic coming off of it is powerful and likely as destructive to the wielder as it is to the target.  There is some kind of foul amalgam of necromancy and thaumaturgy at work in the book.  The scholar refuses to open it.

The last artifact in the chests is a pair of black-bladed knives etched in mithril.  They are wickedly awesome looking with a barb opposite the sharp edge and a curved.  The knives grant the wielder +4 magical enhancement to Stealth.

Klale is busy, but he does see his friends for two purposes:

To, if possible, destroy the table

To suggest that time is pressing; he's worried that each day the group stays here  is one day closer to the Dark Star learning of Mairen's betrayal.

Those who journey to the altar will see a figure robed in dark clothes standing before it.  They are human-sized, though nothing of them is revealed in the light of morning.  As soon as they are seen, they see the party as well, and dash off into the woods.

Saris and Xar are among those who have come.

Klale looks the table over.

Toben comes along with the group aimed at dismantling the table. He whispers something to Ferb, and the critter dashes off into the woods and out of sight.

Klale first checks if the table can be disassembled by getting the legs off. If it looks burnable, that's what he'll advise...with people standing upwind.

Toben stands back and examines the table. "This had been magically enhanced. I think it's going to take the combined effort of all of us to destroy it. Enchanted items can't simply be undone by lighting a match, unfortunately."

Klale takes out Hard Time and uses it as a straight-draw shaver to see if he can get a shaving off the table.

"We should do what we can to weaken it physically and magically and then if Klale and I hit it with everything we have in unison maybe we can destroy it."

Toben looks over to Saris. "Do you have any ideas about this table?"

"I wonder how well it would hold up to cannon fire... or just a large pile of blasting powder".

Saris hears Toben's question, but turns to Xar for a few moments.

Xar stares at the altar as if his will alone could destroy the wicked thing.  He never looks away.

Saris turns back to the group, though, nodding in agreement.  "Aye.  Th' trolls are notoriously fearful o' fire an' sunlight, an' much o' wha' they use is either non-flammable or proofed against fire t' some extent.  In any case, we should deal with th' enchantments first.  Then, if Klale wants t' dismantle it or Ourn blow it up, we can leave tha' t' them."

Saris steps past Xar and places a hand on the altar, tentatively at first, then forcefully.  When next she speaks, it is with the power of Nestael.  A song of dwarven tune, low and soft, but full of strength and wisdom:

"Oh, valley growin' wi' flow'rs from abroad,
Steep 'ills are teemin' wi' deer,
Trees blowin' strong in th' wind's mighty breeze,
Above all this and below we can hear.

The Song o' Life, The Song o' Life,
A harmony coursin' through th' world,
Lift up yer chorus and end this strife,
Bring us to peace and home."

Her hand does not leave the altar as she continues the song with the crooning alto.

"Life is freedom from death's cold hand,
T' toil in th' mountain or till th' land,
Against all evil, we raise our brand,
And cage this darkness as we make our stand.

The Song o' Life, The Song o' Life,
A harmony coursin' through th' world,
Lift up yer chorus and end this strife,
Bring us to peace and home."

As she says the word 'cage' she nods at Toben.
This message was last edited by the GM at 03:57, Wed 04 Jan 2017.

As Saris sings her song, shadows surrounding the table begin to squirm and writhe around. Tendrils of dark magic begin to lash out as the light of her song begins to extract the foul magic like a poison.

Seeing this, Toben takes his cue and begins weaving his own anti-magic. Finally, as the darkness swirls around overhead trapped within Nestael's cage of light, he finishes his spell.  The light quickly begins to implode upon itself as the darkness weakens. It bursts in a small shockwave, consuming the dark magic.


Taking a 10 on the dispel magic, with the circumstance bonus: 21.

"Tha's it, then.  Th' magic is gone.  All 'tis left is th' structure.  If ya leave it be, they'll come back an' re-enchant.  Plus, you'll leave this eyesore here to give the locals the willies.  Tha' 'll serve t' lower morale."  She turns to Xar, listening.  "If ya don't need us, we're gonna head back t' town.  Klale was righ' about one thing, though.  The longer we delay here, the more likely th' dark star wi' Mairen's child will figure out her failure and kill the wee lad.  We must make haste."

The altar itself is of excellent, if not beautiful craftsmanship.  It would take at least an hour to dismantle piece by piece.  Klale had been able to shave off a piece of the sturdy wood on top before the spells were gone.  It might be just as easy to demolish the thing with explosives or some well placed hammer swings.  Testing it will prove that the wood does not burn, though.
This message was last edited by the GM at 18:44, Wed 04 Jan 2017.

I think it best if we stick together...there's the possibility of ambush. He sheathes Hard Time and takes in hand the heaviest sledge he brought. Grasping it with both hands, he rises it overhead and slams the face down on the table so hard that his feet leave the ground.

The damage to the table is devastating, but not complete.

Xar walks over to one of the other hammers Klale brought.  He looks at Klale, the question of borrowing plain on his face.

Klale smiles, bows at the waist, and extends an open hand toward the hammers.

Toben keeps his focus on the surrounding trees while the others take their turns with the table, glancing over at the occasional heavy blow.

Taking note of Toben's gaze, Ourn slinks off to the tree line to hide and keep a watchful eye.

Xar takes one of the hammers, hefts it with expert handling,then lays into the altar with a dreadful, silent fury.  With Klale's help, the altar is soon little more than wood chips and a metal frame bent beyond all use and recognition.

Saris lays a hand on Xar's shoulder.  The mute dwarf stays his hand, and lets the hammer drop to the ground with a dull thud.  Saris smiles sadly.  "Thankee, Klale.  We best be returnin' to the town and makeven final preparation for our next journey."

Toben places a hand on Xar's shoulder and gives him a weak smile. "I'm sorry it took us so long to get to you. If there's anything I can do..."

With the table destroyed, he makes sure the shards of wood are adequately dealt with and heads back to town with the others.