The party is eating in the communal area, and are called upon by one of the Knights of the Aetheric Flame, elite soldier of the Empire of the Sun. He informs the party that a minor clan of dwarves, the Kashtal, to the northeast have ceased trade with the Empire. They are on the outskirts of the dwarven mountain range, and their silver is more valuable to the Empire of the Sun than to Dwerrowhart. As of two weeks ago, communication stopped and as of yesterday, several of Kashtal dwarves entered the town to 'requisition' some of their silver, speaking of royal treasure with the Dredge King. With grim declaration, the Knight informed the party that they must reopen trade with the Kashtal silver mine, by any means necessary.
After speaking with a few other dwarves, as well as the sole surviving dwarf, they discovered that the Dredge King came to the Kashtal clan and reasserted rule. Ancient dwarven history speak of the Dredge King as a powerful dwarf that was so certain of his race's destruction, that he enacted a policy not unlike nuclear holocaust by taking himself, his clan, and powerful secrets with him into the depths of the earth so deep none saw him again (nor his magicks). Only dwarven historians remember the legend of this dwarven lord living in the dretches of the earth, the Dredge King, and his eventual return to the surface to reinstate his own deluded glory of dwarvenkind.
And so with half the battle done, they travel onward towards the Kashtal silver mine, which is a week's journey by horse. Towards the end of their journey, they enter the woods, which is known for its excellent boar hunting. There's some lout sniffing sounds from off the road, and suddenly a trio of large, black boars with burning red eyes attack the party. X37 throws their carcasses upon the wagon after the battle, noticing that eating their flesh is akin to chewing tinfoil (with fillings), which only reinforces their unnatural state.
They see the mine, which is guarded by half a dozen armed dwarves, that are visible. Cast gives a declaration, in the name of the Empire of the Sun, that they should reopen trade. The dwarves state that they're autonomous thanks to the Dredge King and no longer need what the Empire can provide, nor even the meagre scraps of Dwerrowhart; but they seem kind of unsure of their words, as if slightly confused with their own feelings. Cast wishes to speak with the Dredge King himself, and mentions that they can deal with the apparent corruption in the land. This fails to sway the dwarves, stating that while their is an influx of bloodtrees (tree-based disease that turns their leaves razor sharp, along with blood absorbant moss), they don't mess with that area of the land, and the overly vicious boars are controllable; and the Dredge King does not wish to see anyone right now.
Erring on the side of caution, the party acquiesces with their wishes, and asks if there's someone in the woods who would know more about the bloodtrees. They're informed of Crazy Mattie, who lives deeper into the forest to the southeast, and bid the party farewell. It is night by the time the party makes camp in their so far futile search of Mad Mattie, and Marshal holds watch. While the rest sleep, the night is broken by a female bodiless voice that asks questions, responding with answers of her name being Matilda (chuckling that she must be mellowing, as she used to be called 'Mad' rather than 'Crazy'). She asks Marshal to choose which of his friends he would miss the least, the sound of invisible footsteps and unseen blades being drawn surrounding their heads. Marshal responds that he will not choose such, making Mattie bemusedly declare that the death to come will be one of convenience. At which point, the sound of breaking tree branches and a corrupted boar carcass falling from above awakes the entire party.
Liquid-like moonfire pools out of the boar corpse, gathering into a single glowing ball, where a voice emits and informs the party that something corrupts the woods is experiencing the upwelling power of spring after a very long winter. However, this renewed upwelling is being filtered with something foul, and as the power of the land comes from the earth below, it is most likely that the source of darkness stems from the nearby mine. With this, she tells the party they know everything she can tell them of use, and asks them not to seek her out again.
That morning, they ride up to the Kashtal silver mine again, this time letting Tow speak to the dwarves. He discretely informs them that they're returning much of the silver they sold to the Empire of the Sun and need to discuss repayment with the Dredge King. He also informs the dwarves that his travelling companions are kept in the dark of this because of security, as they're but hired muscle. With lucky rolls, they get permission to enter the mine to speak with the Dredge King himself, who appears as a gnome-sized deep dwarf with no body hair at all except for a wild mane of white hair atop his head (no eyebrows, no beard, no arm hair, etc) and a slightly tarnished crown nested within.
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