Gorlen Blackhammer – Journal Entry, #412
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Gorlen Blackhammer – Journal Entry, #412
Arthna we could use another round for my friends and me. Argos, you drunk dwarf, the events unfolding with the royals on Askaheimr, as you may remember, the continent on the other side of the planet I briefly explored within the manaverse is nothing like the thousand-year war that occurred back in the Forgotten Mess. First, little is known as to what kicked that war off in the first place, but we know it started with the burning and ultimate destruction of a giant cloud city. The giants will tell you it’s because the dragons became envious of the giant kingdoms, Ostoria’s prosperity with thoughts of greed and envy launching an attack that started the war. It was a flight of red dragons led by an avatar of their God that attacked the giant cloud city, but as to their real motivation, we can’t be sure. Until then, conflicts had occurred, but they were just personal conflicts, not widespread across a region or kingdom between giants and dragons. It wasn’t until the destruction of the cloud giant city that the giants felt dragonkind posed a serious threat to them, and Ostoria needed to go to war. This ultimately pulled all the dragonkind into the conflict.
Now I’ll admit, the continent of Askaheimr is a powder keg ready to blow right now. Way too many power groups, but it’s still too early to tell what the tipping point will be. There is a rumor Urlan a Dwarven explorer from the Ashrock peaks, had told me about one night. According to the dwarves, they believe Helkaros has returned to guide the Fire Giants back to a single tribe and to focus on their creators’ objectives, however nefarious they may seem. Helkaros, according to Fire Giant lore, is the God that shaped their molten bodies and directed them to metal crafting, raiding, and slave taking.
Now all these history lessons are fine and good, but more recently, I have heard over dwarven ale-soaked rumors that a Storm Giant Warlord, Kulnantor, has been seeking to ally with the Fire Giants and other giant tribes to aid him in his plans. The Fire Giant King Runzurn has agreed to this alliance, and this King isn’t like most Fire Giants. He is very charismatic, powerful, and cunning. He possesses skills in tactics and battlefield strategies with the knowledge of how to use them effectively. Runzurn quickly saw the advantage of joining forces with the Warlord but knew they would need to find a suitable mountain lair to work from that not only could host the number of giants they were talking about but also conceal Kulnantor’s flying citadel. After a few moments, it quickly occurred to Runzurn that the Titan Peaks, a mountain range in the south, contained an active lava river flowing thru the range feeding an active volcano called Mount Hellion would be perfect for what Kulnantor needed.
This will give Runzurn and his Fire Giants time to shape the lava flow and tame Mount Hellion, an active volcano, into a base camp that can hold the number of giants Kulnantor is talking about. At the same time, Kulnantor continues to work on uniting the rest of the tribes. The location provided not only a concealed parking spot for Kulnantor’s flying citadel but a location to train and drill soldiers and troops to keep the location secure and laborers to make it self-sustaining, providing it the ability to launch attacks. Over the last year, the fire giants have cleared abandoned halls, created living quarters, shifted lava flows, and constructed a massive forge in the volcano’s heart in preparation for the giant clans converging upon the Titan Peaks. It’s rumored that all the fire giant kingdoms joined Kulnantor’s banner, and over 50+ clans from the other giant tribes have joined. Each brought slaves to help with farming, mining, menial labor, and tending to farms and herds.
Mount Hellion, and the Titan Peaks, in the space of 12-18 months, transformed into a giant lair completely populated and transformed into a militaristic style operation. The latest information is that they focus on creating weapons and armor, training / performing military drills, and working on battle plans. The mountainous lair isn’t fully operational, but it’s close. Kulnantor wanted to take out a flying cloud castle called StoneCloud Castle as a practice run. The cloud giant clan leader refused to join Kulnantor’s banner and insisted they wanted to remain neutral. Runzurn was charged with seizing the flying fortress and captured the flying castle, slaying all the cloud giants and two silver dragons with military precision. Capturing the flying fortress, it is anchored within the Titan Peaks using immense chains. Once the army/garrison, Mount Hellion the Volcanic Fortress is fully operational, the giants will use the StoneCloud Fortress to launch attacks across Askaheimr.
Gorlen, taking a deep breath and then a drink, looks at Argos; so why is this so important? Mount Hellion is where I source my magmacite, and my supply is very low. There may be a few months before their location in the Titan Peaks becomes fully operational, along with their army, and it will be near impossible to get into that Volcano to harvest a batch of magmacite. Mount Hellion has the best concentration I have found in the manaverse so far. So, I have a favor to ask. I am planning on returning to the deep mana-ethereal plane soon, and since time is wonky there, I don’t know if I will be gone for years or minutes. I need you to commission some new adventurers to perform stealth and recovery missions into Mount Hellion to bring back a supply of magmacite while we still can. Once that place is fully operational, the continent will become dangerous, new alliances will form, and battle lines will be drawn, throwing that entire continent into war. If they can return with a large enough supply, that should buy me some time for when I get back to source a new location, which is probably not going to be as rich as the location in Mount Hellion but a lot safer.
I will also need you to monitor the Laputan’s; we will need to stay ahead of them as they may use this disruption on the continent to their advantage. Lastly, a bit of logistics the Merak festival is coming up, which means their they will be hosting an outside orgy. Thankfully, it’s limited to the temple district and the Merak temple grounds. So there will be foot traffic that will have to pass by there, so make sure you mark the price on all the rubber boots, rain gear, plastic gloves, and splash guard equipment. We should be able to make a nice profit, that is, if a young Rolandite hasn’t beaten us to it. Argos takes a big drink, but Gorlen, what do you want me to do with the crates we received from the Triple K Trading Company today? Gorlen rubs his hand thru his beard, cocks an eyebrow that came today? Argos looks at him. Yes, it did, about 4 hours ago. Move that into my personal vault, not the collectibles or the normal operations vault….but my personal vault. Gorlen looked for a glimpse of understanding in Argos’s eyes. Yeah, yeah, yeah, Gorlen… I got your meaning. I’ll make sure it happens tonight.
Gorlen says…Great! Enough business, waving down Arthna, I heard a rumor that the halfling Rivyre is cooking tonight? Arthna, chuckles; why yes she is; what can I get you? Is there any more pickled Wyvern back there? If so, bring us two orders, and another round, please Arthna.
