The Horned Helm

2 Hearth Fire, 90AN

Formerly a defensive keep to guard the southeastern approaches to Saruun Khel, the Horned Hold now serves as a stronghold and slave pit for the Grimmerzhul duergar. It is built above a massive chasm that runs north to south at the limits of the ruins of Saruun Khel...

Following the map provided to them by the Ordinator Arcanis, the party finds the stronghold manned and protected by a portcullis. Not easily dissuaded, the group of adventurers decides that a direct assault is the way to go. Using his prodigious strength, Rasic nearly sunders the gate with a single blow! The party makes quick work of the Orc Beserkers standing watch outside and bring the fight inside the complex. Inside, they find a Duergar blacksmith and his Orc thralls manufacturing weapons and armor, whom they swiftly defeat. Moving deeper into the second building of the hold, the heroes methodically defeat the occupying duergar guards and free several captive human thralls (Arum, Bessa and Calder) who were kidnapped from Fallcrest in a raid 6 months earlier. The party leaves these three captives barricaded in the armory with instructions to wait for their return (or to set out on their own if the party doesn't return within the hour).

Under a hail of arrows and hails of arcane brimstone, the party fights its way across one of the narrow bridges that connect span the deep cavern, quickly defeating the Duergar who have dug into this defensive location.As the heroes make their way through a ruined chapel, they are beset by 5 Wights who drain the very life essence with their necrotic attacks. After purging the chapel of  the undead, the party is approached by Zaradei, a pixie warlock who has been observing the party since they arrived in the Labryinth. Zaradei is a scholar who is looking for demonic artifacts left over from the Thunderspire's previous inhabitants.

The group of heroes, now having seven members presses into the next room of the hold and, after a pitched battle with two spined devils and several duergar, discover 10 of the 12 captives kidnapped from Riverdown. The captives inform the party that the remaining two were sold to a Gnoll, though they don't know where they were taken. The party then storms the final room of the keep and face Murkelmor (the leader of the local duergar contingent) and his retinue. The heroes bring their most powerful spells and maneuvers to bear, making quick work of this remaining threat.

After the dust settles, the exhausted party decides to sleep in their newfound keep before returning to the Seven Pillared Hall with the 13 rescued captives....