With the imminent departure of the caravan, the now-stable elfgate emits academic specialists and equipment into the villa at a frantic pace. The caravan population swells to 1400, seven independent expeditions of 200 each, and a small contingent who will remain to occupy the villa. They will occupy without the convenience of any further Quastarte connectivity as the elfgate is chiselled out of position and securely stashed in the final moments before departure.
Charlie Company’s expedition, Expedition Charlie, comprises several working animals and a variety of wagons including the vis tanker, a brewery wagon, and a book mobile occupied by the notable gnome archivist Professor Xalver and his kobold assistant Bock. It occurs to Frank that, with the recent influx of personnel and equipment, this caravan has become conspicuously elaborate just to move some vis from point A to an albeit distant point B. At the first scheduled halt the party divides up for a nosy reconnoiter.
Watc identifies and engages a former classmate, Odineous D’nai, who joins the caravan along with a couple of other fellow botanists for the sheer thrill of botanical exploration. They became involved in the project a couple of weeks ago. The suddenly-steady elfgate fortuitously saved them significant overland travel. Odineous wonders about the mysterious tank wagon. Watc deflects: Probably a stock of ale to supply the expedition’s dwarves for the journey.
Ander, mindful of the need for continual improvement, approaches an abjuration wizard punctiliously minding the vis wagon. Tutella Protectio abjures Ander with aloofness while Ander petitions him for some help with a side project to construct a portable foundry. The elevator pitch isn’t enough; Protectio, really quite busy at the moment, defers until Ander has a more formal and compelling proposal. After all, magic has its cost.
Hops casts around for some fellow Divine Host adherents but settles for some young dwarves lingering at the brewery wagon. They offer him an Ogma’s Oaky Ale but he’s not into that manling rice beer swill. A pony secondary fermenter is just finishing up a good dwarven Moorman Marzen, but it needs another week.
Frank conversates with his mummer wagonmates, Allanae Wynzana, Aaanlavar Dmra, and Isolli Waeskes, who avail the halt to, respectively, contort, bell toss and mime their relief getting out of the wagon. They almost can’t believe they would be so handsomely compensated for entertaining the caravan. Let’s just say, it is too much to turn down. Seriously.
Just about the time to get back to the road, a spellguard dispatched by Vesper Othuro urgently requires Charlie Company to investigate the delay of history professor Tomax Uudor who unexpectedly failed to rejoin the caravan after departing early to explore an archeologically significant site, the Throne of Kulgraeth Kragdigger, in the peak of a nearby mountain range.
Sqyylarr recollects previously observing the tracks of Tomax’s horse-mounted party of four where they veered into the mountains through the fresh snowfall. Although Watc doesn’t personally know about the Throne of Kulgraeth Kragdigger, she refers Frank to Professor Xalver. Although Professor Xalver doesn’t personally know about the Throne of Kulgraeth Kragdigger, he directs Frank to the relevant book in his wagon library which indicates Kulgraeth Kragdigger was a regional warlord who constructed the literal seat of his authority on a peak to overlook this valley. Although Frank doesn’t know exactly which peak the Throne of Kulgraeth Kragdigger was constructed upon, he refers Hops to the mountain range above them. Hops uses his neck to tilt his head back so his gaze can behold the tallest peak. Hops indicates that peak to Sqyylarr who leads hillbilly-mounted Charlie Company back to Tomax’s trail and up to the site.
The trail ends at a bridge over a crevasse, which Frank finds a little ostentatious for some reason. A chill goes through the party, like they are being watched by something really cold. Hops notices some blood in the snow around the bridge and then a faint apparition on the opposite side. Hops dismounts his anxious hillbilly which Frank gathers protectively.
The apparition inquires, in dwarven, whom they serve. Ander begins to explain, in dwarven, that the answer is conditional on many variables, dependent and independent –. Hops jumps in: Morndinsamman. Ah, the apparition really likes that answer better than the manling’s ambiguity. He bows. To Ander’s point, though, the apparition really intended the query more in the mortal, immediate sense of service. Easy enough for Hops: that would be Emerus Warcrown of Citadel Felbarr. The apparition, an honorable sort of phantasmic dwarf, respects that allegiance. But here at the Throne of Kulgraeth Kragdigger they do for themselves. So it’s going to be a hard No today on crossing the crevasse bridge. Sqyylarr moves up next to Hops, maul at the ready, to support good old Emerus What’s-his-name’s right to cross this here bridge.
Hops shields himself in faith and starts across the bridge. The apparition declares loudly for Kragdigger and charges Hops furiously, but bounces harmlessly off.
Meanwhile, Ander makes a bloody snowball from what’s next to the bridge and thrusts it experimentally at the hillbillies. They don’t like the smell of hillbilly blood, even in snowball form. Frank gusts Ander away from the hillbillies. Ander advocates for science in the face of Frank’s ignorance while simultaneously scorching a ray in the face of the apparition. Sqyylarr gets a little scorched, too.
Hops turns the apparition and it flees until Watc’s firebolt and Sqyylarr’s maul pop it in the back of its retreating head. It returns to battle, floating above the ostentatious crevasse. This really spooks Watc. Hops summons a spiritual flaming sword of Haela Brightaxe which goes to work on the floating apparition while bullets, slung by Sqyylarr and catapulted by Ander, sail through it. With the help of Ander’s faerie fire, Hops’s flaming sword disperses the apparition.
A couple of bodies in the snow are not Professor Tomax. Sqyylarr warns about a ring of ice around the throne. Otherwise the throne just kind of sits out in the open without any glowing runes at all. The party tracks some bloody prints into a cave concealed by the terrain. Charlie Company gathers up and enters the cave.
The cave is something like the inside of an enormous geode. Ander magically ignites torches for the visually challenged. Outcroppings of large crystals have formed along the walls. Watc investigates their arcane properties and discovers they could have necromantic applications. In fact, Watc and Ander find the crystals quite irresistible. Ander produces a science hammer and starts whacking away at a specimen. Sqyylarr, with Ander-boosted perception, quickly finds two bodies laid out by a crystal outcropping. Although Frank confirms they are still alive and stable, they are not responsive.
Watc, compelled to touch the crystals, makes contact with Khelmeck, the trapped soul of a dwarf warrior. Watc relates Khelmeck’s predicament to him, but he belligerently rejects her explanation. Frank grapples Watc, ready to drag her off the crystal formation. Hops smashes a crystal open and out pops the apparition of Turom Grumbleforge. Hops reasons with Turom and they agree this is not Moradin’s Hall. Turom dives in to possess one of the beardless manling bodies, ready to fight. Sqyylarr creeps up ready to hammer the possessed mortal coil right into the cave floor, but Hops convinces Turom that this is no way to live, or die, or whatever in between. Ander finally cracks open his crystal adding another combative dwarf to the encounter. Ander tries to pocket the 2’ shard of necro-crystal.
Through some tough love counseling, one dwarf spirit returns to a crystal and the other one takes up guard duty at the throne bridge. Professor Tomax, his assistant Ja’ar’rodd, and two of their spellguard escorts are recovered. Hops and Frank arrange for some high level clerics to deal with the whole dwarf crystal situation.