Forbidden Forge

We began this session with the rest of the party joining so that all six were ready to continue exploring the dungeon. The interrogated warforged from earlier said that the forge is "past the ghost and the lab". Following the same direction as before they traveled down the nearest hallway. This lead them to a large octagonal room dusted with rubble over its marble floor. A large mural of the House Cannith sigil was painted on the floor. Whenever Korth stood on it he felt tingly and like his powers were enhanced by its magic. There were two other doors; one to the north and to the south east. Four Cannith mercenaries stood around the north door and straightened themselves when the intruders arrived from the hallway. 

Ethelred noticed that as they readied themselves, drawing their swords and widening their stances, one tapped his sword on the door behind them. The one in front proclaimed: "What are you doing here? This is a restricted area!". Grapé attempted to negotiate with them, while the rest of the party tried to decide on their course of action. In their hesitation a man in similar armor but with a metal pauldron with the Cannith sigil painted on. Belted on his left hip was a mace, and in his right hand was a short copper rod. Seeing the intruders he looked to the guards and said "What are you doing? Attack them!". Following behind the Artificer was a slab of flesh sown together from different parts. A frankenstein's monster called a flesh golem.

The rogue stopped negotiating and drew his rapier, taking the artificer by surprise. Underneath the shouder of the other pauldron was open, so Grapé used the opportunity and sliced off his arm. Korth fought off the guards the rogue had embedded himself in, but was unable to land any blows. MC launched an arrow at the flesh golem but it barely fazed the huge construct. A loud metallic shriek resounded from behind the golem, Leaping over it was a medium-sized dragon made of components similar to a warforged. It unhinged its jaw, belching out a blast of pure arcane energy called force damage at Korth and Grapé. Gedar and MC continued to fire into the fight, taking out more mercenaries while Ethelred and WIlliams stood on the outskirts, trying to skirmish and enter the fight a little more safely. 

Derek was the first to engage the flesh golem. With his magical axe that decayed flesh he was able to deal some meaningful damage to it. The artificer let out a powerful scream from the severe pain of his injuries. He grabbed a globe of glass from his belt and threw it down at his feet, popping out of existence before it hit the ground. When it did, the room was engulfed in a large bloom of fire from the fireball. The flesh golem became enraged by this and used his big meaty fists to slam Derek in the face. The barbarian falling unconscious threw the golem into a frenzy so it slammed down on Korth's head...knocking him unconscious. 

Soon after the artificer popped back into existence ten feet away from where he was, and pointed his copper rod at MC. She was unable to dodge the bolt of red lightning that was thrown at her, and it arced off of her to shock Ethelred, Williams and Gedar. The elf wizard threw a ray of frost at the artificer, freezing him solid and causing him to break into many meaty pieces. Ethelred  cast a healing word on Korth, allowing him to stand up and destroy the head of the forge drake before it could kill him. The last left standing, the flesh golem was focused down and eventually destroyed by Derek. Taking some time to heal themselves through a short rest and healing from the Silver Flame, they explored the lab area that the artificer, golem and forge drake came out of. 

At the very front of the lab three flesh golems remained chained to the wall, inactive and motionless. Various different tables and benches were littered with very old alchemical devices that were yellowed and rusted from neglect. It appeared that they had been used recently in accordance with some encrypted notes to reactivate one of the golems - but not any of the others. On the artificer's body they found three potions of healing, and the components to make six more in boxes and cupboards. All very injured, they holed up in the living quarters (removing the bodies) and rested to restore health and regain spent spell slots. Ethelred cast the spell wyvern watch before they rested, creating a mauve cloud smoke in the shape of a wyvern that watched over the hallway leading to the living quarters. If any enemies would come looking for them, they would be attacked and potentially paralyzed by the spell.

They were able to sleep for 8 hours without being interrupted. MC and Ethelred tried to come up with a scheme to disguise themselves as captured prisoners (ala wookie) but it fell apart when Korth argued that they were able to sleep for 8 hours without being attacked or discovered; it probably meant there weren't any more people in this place regardless. They went through the southern door of the lab room into an empty hallway. It lead to a T of double doors and another clean, smooth hallway that looked like it hadn't been traveled in a long time. They chose to travel through the double doors, which led them into a large foyer. A door lead out to the West, with a southeastern entrance being completely obstructed by rubble (they determined this must have been the front entrance). 

"The door opens into a large, octagonal room that must once have been magnificent. The large symbol set into the floor still looks impressive, but the southern wall is completely shattered. Rubble is scattered everywhere, and some of the room’s southern section is blackened as if by an explosion. A large number of clearly humanoid bones are also strewn about the area. An apparition rises through the floor. It is a translucent human male dressed in the finery of House Cannith. At his heart burns a spectral blue flame. His eyes, mouth, and hair share a similar fire. “Look who else has come! What are you people doing here in my forge?”

The conversation between the party and this forge wraith who called himself Haestus d'Cannith was short lived because when he mentioned "the forge mother Calmachia" Gedar's ears perked up. When Gedar angrily sought questions from this ghost about whom or where Calmachia is - he sunk beneath the ground. 

Haestus cackles. “Perhaps I’ll see you again, but I hope not.” His eyes flash, and pieces of bone around the room tremble. “Witness, now, my power over the dead things of this forge!” He sinks into the floor, and as he does, bones dart through the rubble, meeting each other and knitting together. A spectral blue flame lingers in the spot where he was. It pulses, filling the nozzles on the walls with a pale glow, then goes out." 

Bones, ash and dust knitted together into three different forms. Two were hulking beastly monstrosities that seemed to be the skeletons of large sized Minotaur. Each carried a spectral axe made of the same fire as Haestus. Behind them the spines and cartilage knitted together into a sort of snake body that was capped with the normal skull of a human. The jawbone of the skull split apart and began to tap quickly together, producing a sort of hissing noice. As it did Derek felt like all of his energy had drained from his body, causing his attacks to be disadvantage. 

The skeletal minotaurs were quickly dispatched by the efforts of Korth and Grapé, while the others attempted to take down the bone naga. It kept throwing out curses that made attacking and damaging it extremely difficult, but eventually through a combination of holy magic and fire from Gedar, the bones were all melted to puddles. Confused by this turn of events, Gedar shared with the party that the reason he searches this ruin for powerful spells is because he seeks to continue his father's legacy. When Gedar was a child his father was killed in a dragon attack. He was too young to remember the event in any detail, all he knows is the dragon was named Calmachia. If Calmachia is here in this ruin...

After dodging a hallway filled with very meager and forgettable traps,  they arrived in the entrance to the forge itself. A 50 foot long metal bridge spanned over a large rectangular pool of molten metal. Five feet above the molten metal was a thin mesh of steel that acted as a sort of net. If anyone were to fall they wouldn't be killed immediately, but would instead be incredibly burned.  As the party entered they spied the ghost of Haestus d'Cannith swaying back and forth in anger. He attacked them on sight, spewing foul insults from beyond the grave of how he was the one to make Calmachia, and how she will rule this world in fire and magic. Gedar was unswayed by this, and was the one to strike down the forgewraith.