We leapt to the fight and once again I shifted to the now familiar wolf form that had served us so well in combat before. Fangs flashed and claws raked across fur, but as we parted the sheer strength and ferocity of the three headed beast had severed my connection with the lupine spirit of nature and I was back in my natural shape, blood trickling from my nose.
It’s something the others have never understood about my ability to shift shape. Helikaon has selflessly thrown himself in front of danger many times, but does so with a shield and thick armour protecting his form. For me, the blows that I take in defence of my friends are not hidden behind metal or magic to turn aside a blade or fang.
It just hurts.
Braz called to the forgekeeper to aid us, swearing an oath to free her if she did. It’s something I intended anyway- the fact that the dwarves had left a destructive trap to enforce their oath is a poor show of faith on their part. The plight of my own people trapped behind a curse that rips families apart and drafts them into military servitude leaves me with little appetite for such practises. In the heat of the moment though, we could do with her aid, or this hellbeast may spell the end of us. The creature swam off through the molten pit to gather it’s arms.
Blasts of magic from Calliope and Alke seemed to slow the creature enough for me to assume my wolf form again, as Theo threw an arc of lightning from his hand that caused one of the heads to gnash it’s teeth in pain.
My wolf form lasted little better a second time around. The sheer power of the creature was pushing us back and as Helikaon finished off one of the lesser dogs he took a look across the room and leapt for the bronze device, smashing down on it with his hammer. It began to hiss and whine, and we followed his shouted warning and fled the room, with me sweeping up Theo as I passed towards the open doorway. Helikaon and the forgekeeper fled to the other side of the room to the south as the device detonated. Even the huge beast was kicked from his feet as a wash of blue freezing energy blasted from the wreckage.
Even from relative safety I could feel the wash of cold, but closer to the centre, Helikaon was caught in its impact and thrown from his feet, lips turning blue and twitching from the cold. I wanted to dash to his aid, but the beast was shakily getting back to its feet.
Taking advantage of its grogginess, Calliope cast an enthralling dweomer, drawing it out into the corridor where we lay in wait. Hit from three different sides, without the room to turn and maneuver, and damaged by the dwarvish device, it finally fell.
Throwing aside the lethargy of battle exhaustion I dashed over the Helikaon’s still form and using some natural magic, managed to bring him back to consciousness.
The forgekeeper was as good as its word. As we took the plates that formed its contract and threw them in the lava, freeing it from its servitude, it guided us around the former stronghold, relighting the forge and presenting us with an incredibly strong piece of armour that must have taken the height of it’s skill to produce. It told us of other master smiths, Gygans, beyond the shorelines on the islands. It also warned us of the creature that crawled from the mineshaft and killed the adult Cerberus we saw upstairs. Thank the gods that it hadn’t made its home here.
Scouring the place, we found a few overlooked remnants. We also found a chamber behind the curtain of the waterfall that could part that curtain and form a dock for us to travel here by boat along the Arkalon in future.
I sent a bird messenger to Estoria to summon Volkan and the dwarves. From there, we lay down to rest. Volkan soon arrived, aboard one of his mechanical contraptions. I have to admire his artifice, rather than be put together to bully its way through the air, this thing glides, taking its form from nature, the delicate sweep of its wings reminiscent of a river dragonfly. He congratulated us and offered to put his skills in the forge to use in forging useful kit for us.
And with that, the second labour is complete. Versi’s visions continue apace. A few days of rest to ensure things settle, then we push on. The Necropolis holds secrets for several of us.