Give Shake my best neutral, dead-eyed look for a second - the kind a parent gives a teenager when they say or do something blindingly stupid.
At Bozak's question I trurn back to him and give him a half shrug and a half smile.
An associate based out of my days training in the temple. He has some experience with arcane magic. During our adventure, I was wishing he could give me some advice on some of the arcane stuff we encountered. At some point, I'll reach out to him and see if he can provide any additional info.
Tell me Mr Bozak, does the name "The Iron Hand" mean anything to you?
"I see an associate you say - very well," Bozak sighs deeply, "This is worse than I thought.. I have indeed heard of the Iron Hand. Perhaps you have heard of the Zhentarim? They were by all accounts a cadre of thieves, assassins, and evil wizards that called Darkhold home, before it came what it is today. After the The Citadel of the Ravens fell and the the leadership of the Zhentarim died, were captured by the Shadovar of returned Netheril, or were in flight. The vaunted Black Network was shredded. Cells of Zhentarim agents were cut loose, and without connections or direction, they dissolved or were crushed by rivals. As it were not all of the Zhents went quietly into the night - a large remainder rebuilt Darkhold into the mercenary force it is today, however some of the darker members continued their evil pursuits and formed a number of new factions. The Iron Hand is one of them - as you can probably guess it is headed by a few dark wizards and other magic users and employs all sorts of undesirables in the pursuit of more power. Recently, they have been pursing artifacts of power and import - some of which are on my list to find and remove from circulation. I am not quite sure what the Iron Hand's intent is with the artifacts, but I know it is nefarious."
"Ah, here is your friend Grom... hopefully he can produce the requested item now and we can continue our business..."
Talien listens to the conversation and looks at his drink for a few moments, he pulls out his sword and seems to weigh the difference between the two looking back and forth.
The twins eye you warningly as you pull your sword off your back.
Give Shake my best neutral, dead-eyed look for a second - the kind a parent gives a teenager when they say or do something blindingly stupid.
At Bozak's question I trurn back to him and give him a half shrug and a half smile.
An associate based out of my days training in the temple. He has some experience with arcane magic. During our adventure, I was wishing he could give me some advice on some of the arcane stuff we encountered. At some point, I'll reach out to him and see if he can provide any additional info.
Tell me Mr Bozak, does the name "The Iron Hand" mean anything to you?
"I see an associate you say - very well," Bozak sighs deeply, "This is worse than I thought.. I have indeed heard of the Iron Hand. Perhaps you have heard of the Zhentarim? They were by all accounts a cadre of thieves, assassins, and evil wizards that called Darkhold home, before it came what it is today. After the The Citadel of the Ravens fell and the the leadership of the Zhentarim died, were captured by the Shadovar of returned Netheril, or were in flight. The vaunted Black Network was shredded. Cells of Zhentarim agents were cut loose, and without connections or direction, they dissolved or were crushed by rivals. As it were not all of the Zhents went quietly into the night - a large remainder rebuilt Darkhold into the mercenary force it is today, however some of the darker members continued their evil pursuits and formed a number of new factions. The Iron Hand is one of them - as you can probably guess it is headed by a few dark wizards and other magic users and employs all sorts of undesirables in the pursuit of more power. Recently, they have been pursing artifacts of power and import - some of which are on my list to find and remove from circulation. I am not quite sure what the Iron Hand's intent is with the artifacts, but I know it is nefarious."
"Ah, here is your friend Grom... hopefully he can produce the requested item now and we can continue our business..."
I've heard of the Zhentarim and a little bit of which you speak, but not much. My uncle and other followers of Torm cooperate with other faithful followers of gods who believe in justice, law, and order under the banner of the Order of the Gauntlet. I've heard bits and pieces from him and other bits by keeping my ears open in the temple.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
"Fiction is the lie through which we tell the truth." A Camus
Give Shake my best neutral, dead-eyed look for a second - the kind a parent gives a teenager when they say or do something blindingly stupid.
At Bozak's question I trurn back to him and give him a half shrug and a half smile.
An associate based out of my days training in the temple. He has some experience with arcane magic. During our adventure, I was wishing he could give me some advice on some of the arcane stuff we encountered. At some point, I'll reach out to him and see if he can provide any additional info.
Tell me Mr Bozak, does the name "The Iron Hand" mean anything to you?
"I see an associate you say - very well," Bozak sighs deeply, "This is worse than I thought.. I have indeed heard of the Iron Hand. Perhaps you have heard of the Zhentarim? They were by all accounts a cadre of thieves, assassins, and evil wizards that called Darkhold home, before it came what it is today. After the The Citadel of the Ravens fell and the the leadership of the Zhentarim died, were captured by the Shadovar of returned Netheril, or were in flight. The vaunted Black Network was shredded. Cells of Zhentarim agents were cut loose, and without connections or direction, they dissolved or were crushed by rivals. As it were not all of the Zhents went quietly into the night - a large remainder rebuilt Darkhold into the mercenary force it is today, however some of the darker members continued their evil pursuits and formed a number of new factions. The Iron Hand is one of them - as you can probably guess it is headed by a few dark wizards and other magic users and employs all sorts of undesirables in the pursuit of more power. Recently, they have been pursing artifacts of power and import - some of which are on my list to find and remove from circulation. I am not quite sure what the Iron Hand's intent is with the artifacts, but I know it is nefarious."
"Ah, here is your friend Grom... hopefully he can produce the requested item now and we can continue our business..."
I've heard of the Zhentarim and a little bit of which you speak, but not much. My uncle and other followers of Torm cooperate with other faithful followers of gods who believe in justice, law, and order under the banner of the Order of the Gauntlet. I've heard bits and pieces from him and other bits by keeping my ears open in the temple.
"I'm sure what you've heard is ill in nature. The followers of Torm would revile and oppose anything the old Zhentarim did -- And anything the Iron Hand does now. We can speak on this more later.. first may I see the item?"
Shake looks to Grom expectantly, waiting to see what he does. Finally he asks, "Grom, do you have the item this gentleman is looking for? Did we forget it back in that cave or citadel or whatever?" Shake looks to Bozak, "It's a good thing they didn't trust me to look after it. I would forget my ears if they weren't attached to me." Shake flicks his somewhat pointy ears.
Vim (one of Carlisle Bozak's Goliath bodyguards) steps forward and takes the wand giving you a simple nod. She hands it to Bozak, who inspects it closely. He nods, raises the wand, and points it to the back window of the inn with a stiff, but well practiced flick of his wrist. Vines growing on the back of the inn suddenly start to writhe and move and grow over the window making a creaking noise as they go. Bozak flicks his wrist again and the spell ends with the growth returning to it's normal state.
"Had to make sure it was the real deal," Bozak says as he hands the wand back to Vim who passes it back to Grom.
"You may keep it as a token of my appreciation for taking the job and completing so quickly. This is just a small magic item, but I now know I can trust you to retrieve items of greater import and more importantly bring them to me as promised. You are true to your word, something that is hard to come by these days. And as I am a man of my word here is your payment.." he says as Vau reaches down near Bozak's feet., picks up a small chest, and places it on the table pushing it towards you.
"I believe 2,800 gold pieces should cover the cost of your troubles... now are you interested in another job now that you've passed my test? There's an item I need retrieving from the north.. It will not be as easy as this task and as such you will be compensated more handsomely. I will say though.. it may involve Orcs... and the Iron Hand may be ahead of us I fear..."
I'm not speaking for anyone but myself, but I'm certainly interested.
"Excellent, well there's one.. how about the rest of you? Up for another? I will say though - these Orc's might be a nasty bunch, rumor has it they're part of a warband lead by a particularly brutal Orc named Urgat."
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
"Excellent, well there's one.. how about the rest of you? Up for another? I will say though - these Orc's might be a nasty bunch, rumor has it they're part of a warband lead by a particularly brutal Orc named Urgat."
performance role: 18
People are probably paying attention to Bozak, but anybody's passive perception who beats the performance roll may choose to notice Alten have a small reaction to this statement
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
"Fiction is the lie through which we tell the truth." A Camus
Grom's interest is spiked, as he puts the Wand back in his coat..
"How far north we talking?" "Orcs are always up to no good"
history check to see if i know of anything with that name: 10
ooc: these digital dice hate me
[Nothing really ringing a bell.]
"Northwest of Mirabar in the Spine of the World mountains which are maybe 100-150 miles from here... The item is in the ruins of Khundrukar... you may have heard of the place master dwarf?" Bozak says with a sad smile.
Grom will undoubtedly know the following information the others probably wouldn't know much about it:
Durgeddin was a master smith who forged blades of surpassing quality and power. Centuries ago, his home was sacked by orcs. Durgeddin led the remnants of his clan to the mountains north of the town of Blasingdell and established a small, secret stronghold somewhere in the trackless wilderness.
From his hidden redoubt, he waged a decades-long vendetta against all orc-kind, until his enemies discovered his fortress and attacked it after a long siege. Durgeddin and his followers perished, and much wealth was carried away by the conquering hordes. But it’s said that the deepest and best-hidden vaults and armories escaped the looting, and that some of Durgeddin’s extraordinary blades still wait in the darkness for a hand bold enough to claim one.
Talien finally decided about his drink and sword and puts his sword away, he then pushes his drink to Shake and retrieves his dagger. He rejoins the table saying nothing but staring at the drinks.
Looking around at the group and sensing the group is interested.
So what's the objective for the job?
"There is another magical artifact located somewhere within the lost halls of Khundrukar.. I image it will be deep in its depths as it was Durgeddin's masterwork and prized possession. It is a warhammer named Sunforger. They say the hammer is magical and when thrown vanishes in a fiery explosion when it hits its target, then somehow reappears in the wielders hand on command as if it were never thrown. It is truly a powerful weapon and cannot fall into the hands of the Orcs, nor the Iron Hand."
"And what gives you the right claim to a masterwork item from the legendary Durgeddin... you expect me to march this group in there and then im supposed to just hand over one of the most important missing artifacts in my peoples history?"
"and that's assuming we even make it in there... Hundreds have tried to make it to the Holds to recover wealth and items and to no avail..."
"How can i believe this is going to be different? how can you look me in the eyes and tell me we wont just be another dumb group to thow themselves at a enemy settled in for years??"
"And what gives you the right claim to a masterwork item from the legendary Durgeddin... you expect me to march this group in there and then im supposed to just hand over one of the most important missing artifacts in my peoples history?"
"and that's assuming we even make it in there... Hundreds have tried to make it to the Holds to recover wealth and items and to no avail..."
"How can i believe this is going to be different? how can you look me in the eyes and tell me we wont just be another dumb group to thow themselves at a enemy settled in for years??"
Bozak smiles, "I'm no fool Grom.. I told you it would be dangerous and I never said it would be easy. I'm not here to convince you to take the job.. I am only offering it to you and your group as you have proven yourselves in the Sunless Citadel. As for right of claim.. you know very well the right to treasure trove is to the finder, or else a lot of people would be out of jobs. However, as I told you I am more concerned with removing certain items from circulation and preventing them from falling into the wrong hands - I am willing to discuss sending the item to Sundabar for safe keeping with some of my contacts amongst the dwarven holds in the north. If this is what you'd like then I will arrange someone to meet you and transport the item to Sundabar once you have recovered it. I of course will be at the meet to authenticate the item, before it is transferred."
"I see an associate you say - very well," Bozak sighs deeply, "This is worse than I thought.. I have indeed heard of the Iron Hand. Perhaps you have heard of the Zhentarim? They were by all accounts a cadre of thieves, assassins, and evil wizards that called Darkhold home, before it came what it is today. After the The Citadel of the Ravens fell and the the leadership of the Zhentarim died, were captured by the Shadovar of returned Netheril, or were in flight. The vaunted Black Network was shredded. Cells of Zhentarim agents were cut loose, and without connections or direction, they dissolved or were crushed by rivals. As it were not all of the Zhents went quietly into the night - a large remainder rebuilt Darkhold into the mercenary force it is today, however some of the darker members continued their evil pursuits and formed a number of new factions. The Iron Hand is one of them - as you can probably guess it is headed by a few dark wizards and other magic users and employs all sorts of undesirables in the pursuit of more power. Recently, they have been pursing artifacts of power and import - some of which are on my list to find and remove from circulation. I am not quite sure what the Iron Hand's intent is with the artifacts, but I know it is nefarious."
"Ah, here is your friend Grom... hopefully he can produce the requested item now and we can continue our business..."
The twins eye you warningly as you pull your sword off your back.
Talien pays no attention to the twins.
Warforged Fighter Talien
I've heard of the Zhentarim and a little bit of which you speak, but not much. My uncle and other followers of Torm cooperate with other faithful followers of gods who believe in justice, law, and order under the banner of the Order of the Gauntlet. I've heard bits and pieces from him and other bits by keeping my ears open in the temple.
"Fiction is the lie through which we tell the truth." A Camus
"I'm sure what you've heard is ill in nature. The followers of Torm would revile and oppose anything the old Zhentarim did -- And anything the Iron Hand does now. We can speak on this more later.. first may I see the item?"
Shake looks to Grom expectantly, waiting to see what he does. Finally he asks, "Grom, do you have the item this gentleman is looking for? Did we forget it back in that cave or citadel or whatever?" Shake looks to Bozak, "It's a good thing they didn't trust me to look after it. I would forget my ears if they weren't attached to me." Shake flicks his somewhat pointy ears.
Shake - Fenris Worldsbane's Tales From the Yawning Portal: Sunless Citidal
Randy Doe - Water Deep: Dragon Heist
My Thingiverse Profile
After hearing the convo, and making sure we are all good, Grom would produce the wand..
Grombrindal "The White Dwarf" (Dwarf - Wizard) - Fenris_Worldsbane's Tales from the Yawning Portal

Vim (one of Carlisle Bozak's Goliath bodyguards) steps forward and takes the wand giving you a simple nod. She hands it to Bozak, who inspects it closely. He nods, raises the wand, and points it to the back window of the inn with a stiff, but well practiced flick of his wrist. Vines growing on the back of the inn suddenly start to writhe and move and grow over the window making a creaking noise as they go. Bozak flicks his wrist again and the spell ends with the growth returning to it's normal state.
"Had to make sure it was the real deal," Bozak says as he hands the wand back to Vim who passes it back to Grom.
"You may keep it as a token of my appreciation for taking the job and completing so quickly. This is just a small magic item, but I now know I can trust you to retrieve items of greater import and more importantly bring them to me as promised. You are true to your word, something that is hard to come by these days. And as I am a man of my word here is your payment.." he says as Vau reaches down near Bozak's feet., picks up a small chest, and places it on the table pushing it towards you.
"I believe 2,800 gold pieces should cover the cost of your troubles... now are you interested in another job now that you've passed my test? There's an item I need retrieving from the north.. It will not be as easy as this task and as such you will be compensated more handsomely. I will say though.. it may involve Orcs... and the Iron Hand may be ahead of us I fear..."
I'm not speaking for anyone but myself, but I'm certainly interested.
"Fiction is the lie through which we tell the truth." A Camus
Shake eyes the chest with wide eyes and says, "They get 2,800 GOLD pieces?!? Wow!! And more next time!?! Sign me up."
Shake - Fenris Worldsbane's Tales From the Yawning Portal: Sunless Citidal
Randy Doe - Water Deep: Dragon Heist
My Thingiverse Profile
"Excellent, well there's one.. how about the rest of you? Up for another? I will say though - these Orc's might be a nasty bunch, rumor has it they're part of a warband lead by a particularly brutal Orc named Urgat."
Grom's interest is spiked, as he puts the Wand back in his coat..
"How far north we talking?" "Orcs are always up to no good"
history check to see if i know of anything with that name: 10
ooc: these digital dice hate me
Grombrindal "The White Dwarf" (Dwarf - Wizard) - Fenris_Worldsbane's Tales from the Yawning Portal

performance role: 18
People are probably paying attention to Bozak, but anybody's passive perception who beats the performance roll may choose to notice Alten have a small reaction to this statement
"Fiction is the lie through which we tell the truth." A Camus
[Nothing really ringing a bell.]
"Northwest of Mirabar in the Spine of the World mountains which are maybe 100-150 miles from here... The item is in the ruins of Khundrukar... you may have heard of the place master dwarf?" Bozak says with a sad smile.
Grom will undoubtedly know the following information the others probably wouldn't know much about it:
Durgeddin was a master smith who forged blades of surpassing quality and power. Centuries ago, his home was sacked by orcs. Durgeddin led the remnants of his clan to the mountains north of the town of Blasingdell and established a small, secret stronghold somewhere in the trackless wilderness.
From his hidden redoubt, he waged a decades-long vendetta against all orc-kind, until his enemies discovered his fortress and attacked it after a long siege. Durgeddin and his followers perished, and much wealth was carried away by the conquering hordes. But it’s said that the deepest and best-hidden vaults and armories escaped the looting, and that some of Durgeddin’s extraordinary blades still wait in the darkness for a hand bold enough to claim one.
Talien finally decided about his drink and sword and puts his sword away, he then pushes his drink to Shake and retrieves his dagger. He rejoins the table saying nothing but staring at the drinks.
Warforged Fighter Talien
Arxius looks to Rees with a slightly raised eyebrow. She gives a small nod. If Rees wishes to continue, they will go as a pair.
Arxius, Elven Simic Hybrid Ranger in Tales from the Yawning Portal
Looking around at the group and sensing the group is interested.
So what's the objective for the job?
"Fiction is the lie through which we tell the truth." A Camus
"There is another magical artifact located somewhere within the lost halls of Khundrukar.. I image it will be deep in its depths as it was Durgeddin's masterwork and prized possession. It is a warhammer named Sunforger. They say the hammer is magical and when thrown vanishes in a fiery explosion when it hits its target, then somehow reappears in the wielders hand on command as if it were never thrown. It is truly a powerful weapon and cannot fall into the hands of the Orcs, nor the Iron Hand."
"And what gives you the right claim to a masterwork item from the legendary Durgeddin... you expect me to march this group in there and then im supposed to just hand over one of the most important missing artifacts in my peoples history?"
"and that's assuming we even make it in there... Hundreds have tried to make it to the Holds to recover wealth and items and to no avail..."
"How can i believe this is going to be different? how can you look me in the eyes and tell me we wont just be another dumb group to thow themselves at a enemy settled in for years??"
Grombrindal "The White Dwarf" (Dwarf - Wizard) - Fenris_Worldsbane's Tales from the Yawning Portal

Bozak smiles, "I'm no fool Grom.. I told you it would be dangerous and I never said it would be easy. I'm not here to convince you to take the job.. I am only offering it to you and your group as you have proven yourselves in the Sunless Citadel. As for right of claim.. you know very well the right to treasure trove is to the finder, or else a lot of people would be out of jobs. However, as I told you I am more concerned with removing certain items from circulation and preventing them from falling into the wrong hands - I am willing to discuss sending the item to Sundabar for safe keeping with some of my contacts amongst the dwarven holds in the north. If this is what you'd like then I will arrange someone to meet you and transport the item to Sundabar once you have recovered it. I of course will be at the meet to authenticate the item, before it is transferred."