Session 17: The Way to a Dwarf’s Heart is Through a Worm's Anus

Arran stays with the caravan for a while to have his bow enchanted, while Ahrm, Grombrin and Vojta continue on their trek to Glyckheart. As they travel, Ahrm tells the other about his background in the thieves’ guild. He was employed to extort someone for money, and ended up killing him in a fight. The man’s wife and children were sick and starving, so Ahrm took the hard choice of putting them out of their misery. Now he wants revenge on Thaddeus for giving him that assignment, and for exploiting the people to the point of putting them in that position. Thaddeus is now the leader of the tower district, and a very powerful mage. He requests the others’ help in reaching him, but claims that he must be the one to kill him, else his undead curse will not end well. His first step when reaching Glyckheart will be to seek out his old friend Joe for information. He mentions that the guild has five roles for its members: warriors, cruxes (builders), books (academics), cloaks (public figures), and healers. He teaches Grombrin and Vojta some signs to appear like a crux and a healer respectively. He warns them to salute if they see a richly bejeweled elf, who is a leading member of the guild, and to avoid a giant half orc with a warhammer. He also mentions that Sarla is his adoptive mother and head of medicine of the guild.

Later, the group meets Jacquar the lone traveler in the desert. He is a wizard heading to Glyckheart to study at the magical academy. Ahrm asks what kind of wizard he is, but he gives an obtuse answer, and Grombrin senses that he’s hiding something. The group argues over whether they should trust him, but they ultimately let him join their journey to Glyckheart.

The next day a caravan is seen in the distance. Vojta turns into a giant eagle and carries Grombrin to the caravan. It consists of insectoid humanoids, a scorpion-man, and basilisks dragging the corpse of a blue dragon. The insectoids tell Grombrin that they hunted the dragon for food, but they’re not very talkative. Vojta and Grombrin return to the others, where Ahrm mentions that the scorpion people are exceptional hunters who are sometimes hired to hunt threats.

Later that day, the group encounters a sinkhole. There’s something shiny at the bottom, so Vojta turns into a giant spider and carries Grombrin down. They find a cave with crude glass inside. Vojta touches it, causing a flash of lightning. Grombrin breaks off a piece and brings it to the surface. When Ahrm sees it, he says the glass is part of a blue dragon’s nest, and urges the group to get out of here.

The next day, the group finds a stone well with a circle of black sand around it. Jacquar recognizes a magical radiance and dispels it. This causes a dao spirit to emerge and thank them for freeing him. His name is Bronze, and he used to have a master, but was imprisoned a long time ago. He offers a wish to anyone who can beat him in boulder, parchment, shears. Ahrm wins and wishes that each blow he lands on an opponent with malicious intent will weaken their magical power. It is granted, but Ahrm has yet to try it out. Grombrin loses the game. Vojta wins, and wishes for the wisdom to bring balance to this world. The dao grants him expert knowledge of astronomy, so that he now knows how to physically balance the axis of the planet. Because Jacquar freed the dao, he gets the wish for free. He asks for the dao’s assistance in finding the person who “did this to him” (referring, unbeknownst to the others, to his undead state). The dao says he’ll be his servant for the time being. Jacquar and the dao set off in a new direction to fulfil their quest, leaving the group.

The next day the group draws close to Glyckheart. The earth starts to rumble as they approach. They start hurrying towards the city, but a giant purple worm leaps from the ground, smashing the cart and swallowing Grombrin. Ahrm and Vojta attack the worm, but its hide is highly resilient. Grombrin creates a wall of fire inside of the worm, causing the worm to regurgitate him and swallow the two camels instead. Grombrin maintains his wall of fire, causing the worm to regurgitate the camels as well and flee. Vojta can heal one of the camels, but the other is already dead.

On foot, the group finally arrives at Glyckheart. There are guards checking anyone who comes in, which is unusual. Ahrm lies about his reason for seeking out Thaddeus and bribes the guard to let no one know that he is here. Grombrin and Vojta don’t have papers to show, but they bribe the guard to let them through. Ahrm heads out on his own in search of Joe. He hears that Joe hasn’t been around in a few years, but suspects that he must still be hiding somewhere in Glyckheart.