Having found insights into the next step towards recovering the Death Spark, the Troupe leaves Calithil and for the next two days travels to the northern void gate in the mountains east of Tothkubad.
July 11, 7762
The Troupe emerges from the Cemetery Stone void gate and returns to Opal. Ravenna spends time plumbing the depths of the Knowledge Spark for details about the void. Magnus pays a visit to Catriona, who gives him a chest of 3500 silver to give to Mar-Khabazza as the latest profits from the trade season come in. Mar-Khabazza meets with the town council who instruct him to continue to protect the town, “in whatever capacity you deem necessary.”
Ravenna puts forward a case that the best way to help Opal is to help the Duergar with locating their city, Thulmur. When she speaks with Earthcaller Franzahl she is brought into an inner chamber of the Duergar fortress east of the parade grounds and is shown a complicated structure that resembles a large bowl made of glass toothpicks. In so many words, Franzahl explains that this is a model of a massive laen structure that surrounds Thulmur from underneath and extends up and around it. The Duergar don’t know how it got there or who built it and only know that it was part of the arcane explosion that destroyed the city.
“We have been trying to tunnel up from underneath but the laen has proved to be impenetrable. We tried to go over the rim, but the rim extends up into the mountains of the upheaval and across the top of the bowl, like a cap is a violent and chaotic phenomenon of primordial energies run amok. It causes some to sicken and die, others to go insane, others to change shape into horrible creatures that run wild until slain.”
Ravenna announces that she has rudimentary knowledge of how to work laen, and perhaps she can help pierce the bowl. When brought this news, most Duergar are not inclined to help, having spent decades in fruitless tasks like this. Only Earthmender Wilda, with his quartz lion helmet, chooses to accompany Franzahl on this expedition.
July 26, 7762
It takes two weeks of tunneling and mining to create a tunnel to the base of the laen bowl. At one point the tunnel crosses a gigantic fissure deep in the earth so the duergar must shape a stone bridge across.
The excavation reveals a large formation of laen, originally fashioned into an ornate web, but now some incredible outpouring of energy has twisted the structure into ropy formations, impossible to navigate.
Ravenna devises an ice cannon to melt their way though the laen web. It consists of a large stone tube with a chamber at one end for cold ore to be inserted. The resulting blast of absolute zero can then be directed against the laen, melting it apart while protecting the wielder from teh devastating chill. It is a grueling undertaking, involving most of the group with Savenia Loresong levitating the cold ore into the ice cannon, Ravenna maintaining the environment spells to protect against the freezing temperatures of the cold ore, and the Duergar leading the actual mining of the laen. Magnus and Naisha spend their time patrolling the tunnel between the underside of the laen bowl and the giant rift.
Days pass with steady progress being made until three Sudaar scouts climb down the rift wall to enter the tunnel. After a quick skirmish, Magnus and Naisha slay the trio and follow their tracks back up the tunnel and up the craggy wall and away into the darkness.
They decide to post a watch five minutes away from the laen bowl.
August 5, 7762
After two weeks of mining, the ice cannon consumes the last of their cold ore so Ravenna teleports to Beryl and enters “the second mine on the left” to harvest more. She also picks up three more weeks of food and hauls it back with her.
August 9, 7762
A group of three red sudaar approach the guardpost. Magnus blocks the way and they address him in teh gutteral, snarling language of their kind. “What are you doing here human? This is our domain. Go away.” Magnus replies that they want no trouble and the red sudaar reply, “Where humans are involved there is always trouble” but they withdraw without violence.
August 11, 7762
After three weeks of effort, the Duergar breach the underside of the laen barrier and begin traditional excavation efforts, digging upwards though the earth to reach a grand fissure to the east of Thulmur, the lost Duergar city. Earthcaller Franzahl and Earthmender Wilda, despite being vindicated about their continued search for Thulmur, are subdued and businesslike in their approach to the ancient city.