Chilling Adventures in the North

Dex Save: 11

Cut and bleeding from the dying mephits' last retribution, Bjorn leans on his spear, breathing heavily. He looks at the grumpy dwarf and says wryly, "Griggle Duskloch?"

Muharg enters the forge after Bjorn and stands slightly behind him. Both hands resting on his belt, jaw clenched and taking deep breaths, his nostrils flaring with every inhale, clearly trying to ease himself.

Without breaking eye contact with the duergar, he asks quietly to the group, almost a raspy whisper "Anyone needs healing? Don't have much left in me but let me know"

Whilst carrying on working the duergar shouts over his shoulder, "Aye! That's me."

"We've got a package for you," Bjorn pauses slightly before continuing, "What's with all the mephits about the place? We almost got ourselves killed delivering it to you."

"The mephit situation is very sad," Griggle shakes his head. "But I cannot stop the research, the results of this research will benefit all people of Faerûn. This research is very important to us all.

Who is the package from?"

Bjorn's jaw drops shocked by Griggle's reply. He his next words are said very carefully, as he feels his anger building, "Hold on. Are you saying the mephits. this!" he gestures at the wrecked buildings around them, "Are caused by you?!"

"Well, I can only presume so," he replies. "Mephits are, after all, native to the elemental planes. Do you know anyone else who is trying to draw power from the elemental planes in order to smelt raw adamantine? Because I sure don't. Though I must admit that I did not know of the situation until you just told me. You may think I be eccentric but just imagine how much easier it would be to use adamantine when I achieve my goals. And cheaper too!

Now what was that about a package?"

From behind Muharg and Bjorn, outside the forge door, there is a mixture of incoherent noises, growls, and orc curses. "Do you have his package?" Arogna asks Qinfaren and Shad. "I'll give it to him right in his bloody face. The arrogant [orcish anatomical term]."

Muharg walks up to the duergar, stands close to him with his fists clenched, knuckles white from the pressure, his face just a handful of inches from Griggle’s “Now listen to me, you’ll come outside with us and you’ll take a look at what you are causing.” Says Muharg with a low raspy voice “After that, we’ll talk about that parcel of yours”

Griggle pushes past Muharg as he goes to pick up another tube, "Out of the way. I don't have time for this."

"The package," Shad says, "is from Nezznar the Black Spider. We will give it to you after you see what your work has done to the town." Shad will throw his coats wide, basking in the heat of the forge. "I'll watch the flames. No need to worry about them. Just take a quick look outside. You know brief rests can be inspirational," he says. Charisma (Persuasion):22

Griggle places his equipment down on a desk, "Oh! Nezznar sent me a package! Brilliant he is an old friend of mine!"

He then turns around to face you all, "So does the parcelmaster know that you are tryng to use my package as leverage? That's not what you get paid for now is it?"

He then sighs and walks over to the door, pushing past you all to step outside. He looks around the town examining the destruction for a moment it looks like the sight might be having an effect. However, then Griggle just shrugs his shoulders.

"Oh well, it can't be helped. I'm sure they will be able to rebuild. Besides they will be thanking me when Fireshear it put back on the map as the location of my discoveries."

He turns around and heads back inside.

"Anyway can I please have my package now?"

Qinfaren lets his companions do the talking while he goes close to get a better look at the forge itself. He knows very little about metal work. He carries no metal on him and even his shield is thick wood. 

"This seems quite unnatural," he says. "Maybe it would be best if you listened to the others and see what you're doing."

Qinfaren looks to see if there's some way to actually shut the forge down.

(Perception: 14 )

Arogna follows Griggle inside the forge, frowning. "You're pretty stupid for a dwarf, aren't you," she growls at him. "There'll be nothing to put on the map if your beasts burn the whole town down. You gotta stop this research now. Or get the hell out of the town and do it someplace else. Then they'll only have you to set on fire. Which would be favourite."

Qinfaren looks at the experimental elemental forge that was created by Griggle. The forge looks to be a patchwork job made from different parts that seem to have been forced together in ways they were never intended to be used. The forge is too confusing to try and understand by anyone who is not well knowledged in arcana. Even then, Qinfaren suspects, that the only person who would truly understand the inner working of this contraption is Griggle Dusklock himself. The only way that Qinfaren could see to bringing a stop to the forge is to destroy it. Though if destroying the forge would improve the situation or make things work, Qinfaren cannot determine.

Meanwhile, Griggle turns on Argona, "My beasts? They're not my beasts. I did not summon them. They must have passed through as a result of my experiments with the elemental plane and the material one. If I can get my experiment right then the mephits will stop coming here. But instead, I have five members of the postal service with a bad attitude distracting me from my work. Now hand over my package, otherwise, I will withhold my fee and report you to you supervisior.

Qinfaren turns and looks at Griggle.

"I think the people of this town are already associating the mephits with your work," Qinfaren begins. "You are right. We are just delivering a letter to you."

Qinfaren takes it out of his pack and hands it to Griggle.

"I know you don't need to listen to us, but you might still want to think about leaving. If the town decides this is your fault I think your stress levels are really going to climb. Then what happens to your work?"

"He doesn't deserve your politeness, Qinfaren," Arogna scowls, hefting her warhammer and looking at Griggle's workbench. "We all heard him say this is his fault. How about we report him to the mayor, or whatever they have here. Or how about we deal with it ourselves."

"I understand not being motivated by the fates of others," Shad says. "But nothing will interrupt you work like torches and pitchforks! Might be more productive to stay on the good side of the townsfolk. Just a suggestion, of course." He will open his coats wide again, gathering in all the heat he can. "Back to the Icebreaker?" he says.

Griggle almost snatches the package from Qinfaren in his hate,  he tears it and begins to read.

"I see that Nezznar has still not dropped his flair for the dramatic," he says to himself more than anyone else. He then continues to read, you can see his eyes dart back and forth along the parchment. Then his eyebrows shoot up in surprise to what he reads. When he gets to the end of the letter his mouth falls open for a moment before he shouts, "Eureaka!"

Then the throws the letter to the side on a workbench.

"Old Nezzy has pulled through. He has gone and solved our issue. He has discovered a new formula for a new combination of elementally infused powders. This new combination should allow me to continue with my research. But this is better than what I had before. This combination should produce a more stable reaction between the fabric of the elemental plane and the maternal plane.

Well, don't you see what this means? This more stable reaction will keep the elemental powers that I am borrowing more focused on this plane. In other words this new formula will reduce the risk of extraplanar creatures, such as the mephits, from tumbling over into this plane. No more mephits, no more issues."

He then turns around and begins to work on the new formula.

"Would someone please pass me a half-ounce of smelling salts, a quarter-ounce of powdered earth, a full beaker of solid water, and a stoppered tube of extinguished fire residue?"

Qinfaren looks at the others and smiles.

"Let go of your anger," he says to Arogna. "Otherwise it's going to really make you upset. Now, we want no more mephits in the town, right? Well maybe helping Giggle here now helps the town."

He then begins looking around the room for the requested items.

"Is solid water, the same as ice?" he asks.