D&D Post game 12-16-17 Part 2

The party arrives at the forge of the gnome Dimble Greenbottle.

As they enter the forge they are welcomed by a gnome working a desk. His face is red from the heat, he is wearing an apron and has several mouse traps attached to his belt. This is odd, but he is a gnome and they have a reputation for being eccentric. After introductions they are introduced to one Dimble Greenbottle. He is also wearing atypical forge attire but has an elaborate headpiece comprised of multiple telescoping lenses and has mouse traps along his belt as well. AS the party looks around they notice all the workers have traps, bells, padlocks on belt pouches or various other minor deterrents on their person.

That is when the barbarian notices a small dragon humanoid creature trying to rifle through his pack. Kobolds! The forge is infested with kobolds! Well not infested as Dimble tells them. They are the lesser labor for the forge. It seems he once saved a small band of them and they are indebted to him. They act as “gophers” for the smiths and artisans. They are loyal and useful, but they have a knack for grabbing small objects that are not secured or hidden away. That explains the traps on all the workers belts. The party secures their pouches and packs as Dimble shows them around the forge.

They soon realize why this forge is located ½ mile outside of Ferrous Spur. The forges are not fed with coal, they are magma fed. Dimble has somehow (company secret) been able to run pipes dep into the mountain and pipe magma into and through his forge. This way they have an unlimited supply of fire and heat for the forges. They can run the forges 24-7 if they want. They have a constant source of heat for their metal work.

The downside is that occasionally there is a breach. What is a breach? Well the party soon discovers that!

As they are about to seal their deal for  the equipment and cost, a horrible wailing siren begins. A mass of dwarves, gnomes and kobolds rush up from the lower forges. Their clothes and hair is singed and in places still on fire. The shift manager screams breach and pulls a series of levers. Door slam shut and several gnomes rush down a hallway.

Dimble turns to the party and asks for some assistance. He explains that  occasionally elemental creatures will travel up with the magma. He would be eternally grateful if they would help. He even offers to discount his prices for any assistance. Well that is enough to get the party motivated. They head down to the lower level to see what help they can offer.

Once downstairs they see several forges where all manner of weapons, armor, equipment and contraptions are being created. They also see several small cracks in the stone where magma is pouring out into the forge. The middle of the room appears to house a giant furnace with several pipes protruding out of it. The furnace is glowing red and has a  plethora of magical runes carved into it. The runes are glowing blue and then occasionally blink out of existence. This is  what Dimble and his crew are racing to fix. The party is tasked with stopping the small humanoids made of lava and fire that are setting the room ablaze.

Several minutes later and the lava men have been dispatched. It was then that a second wave of lava men arrived and the runes on the main furnace all “blinked” out of existence. This lead to a small explosion and the unleashing of the fir elemental housed within it. Dimble and his crew raced off down a hallway. The party had no idea what the gnomes were doing, but they did have a fire elemental facing them so they did what they are known for. The leapt into combat with it and the next wave of lava men.

As the party faced off with the elemental, the gnomes returned in suits that looked to be made from metallic sheets. They also were carrying large barrels with cranks and strange nozzled hoses attached to them. They set up and began to crank. The hoses filled and the gnomes aimed the nozzles at the various fires and cracks spewing magma within the room. Water spewed from the hoses and soon fire became smoke and steam.

Meanwhile….the party, now hot and burnt in places, finished off the elemental and tried to catch their breath. Sadly, they had no times as another wave of elemental creatures arrived. This time a flight of lava mephits fly into the forge spewing lava breath everywhere. The party began to swat them out of the air while the gnomes continued to fight the spreading fires and cool the cracks spewing lava. As the last of the mephitis was dispatched the party quickly renegotiated their equipment purchasing terms. Dimble happily would give them the equipment for free along with an extra 500 gold coins if the party would continue to help. Continue to help? It seemed as though they had finished off every fire creature to travel up through the magma. Well that was until there was a rumbling in the ground.

A small crack split open wide and a wave of lava poured forth. Riding atop this wave was a giant amalgam of giant snake, humanoid torso, fire and smoke wielding a giant flaming spear. A salamander. A n elemental creature of fire and evil!  It was almost like Dimble was expecting a guy like this to arrive.

The constant waves of creatures and the heat had worn down the party fairly well. Still they rose to the occasion and charged into battle with the salamander. It took only a few moments for the extreme heat emanating from the salamander to overwhelm the rouge (well that along with numerous small untreated wounds). The barbarian and monk doubled their efforts to drive sword and fist through the fire snake man creature. After a vicious series of Ki infused punches and a pair of devastating sword strikes, the salamander was defeated and slowly sank back into the lava he arrived from.

The forge (and the wounded rouge) had been saved. The gnomes continued to work to put out the remaining fires, seal the magma cracks and summon a new fire elemental for their magical furnace. The party was thanked and paid by Dimble. He upheld their deal and would be creating and delivering their brewing equipment free of charge. He then removed the number 300 from a sign reading “ Days without an Incident” and replaced it with a 1.