Though the party was stumped for a moment to take in the engravings all around them, on the walls, they eventually had to press on deeper if they were to stop the Twilight's Hammer -- and find the enigmatic Lord Arkkus who was no doubt hiding away somewhere down here.
The path split in two: one went further down to a pair of massive doors, while the other ran down a narrow corridor with dimly lit carvings along the wall. The path to the south was blocked by a massive door, past which they could hear the heavy sounds of metal against metal, like a hammer against an anvil, ringing quietly from a distance. It was certain that this had to be the way onward to the forge at the heart of this underground complex, just as they had heard about it, but at the moment they could not find any way to get past it.
So instead, they chose to make their way down that narrow corridor. As they came closer, they found that the dimly lit carvings were statues settled into niches along the walls. Faceless monstrosities, the N'raqi as Zachariah Hallowhold could describe them. As the party were busy examining the figures from a distance, Qalia Sugarfuel's imp minion Zabbo stepped its way onward, and straight onto a pressure plate on the ground.
A loud click sounded from further on in the corridor, and out from the darkness a massive axe swung down from the ceiling and cleaved into the poor creature! Thankfully, Zabbo survived the impact with the axe, if only barely, and the rest of the party were able to make their way past the pressure plate trap now that they knew where it was.
At the end of the narrow corrdior was another iron door, and on the other side of it the party could hear the sounds of commotion. Voices, the clinking of glass, a few deep grunts and growls, and what sounded like the occasional jolt of electricity. Jung-Won Oxhide decided to try and throw her body, strong as she was, straight at the door. Either it would bust open and the party would have the upper hand on whoever were inside, or they would then have to draw weapons and fight normally.
Thankfully, the former was what eventually surpassed. As the pandaren slammed into the door with all her might, the door gave in and hit the floor with an ear-ringing thud. On the otehr side was what looked like a small workshop, where a band of goblins were tinkering with various things; all now thoroughly startled by the sudden commotion.
A battle quickly broke out as the party charged their way further on into the room. Between mace-armed bruisers and spellcasters, as well as a goblin with a pair of pistols that jammed at just the wrong moment, the most frightful sight inside the room was a towering heap of a creature.
It was a hobgoblin! One creatively nicknamed 'big guy' by one of the goblins in the room, who barked out a command that had the hobgoblin reach for a cord on the elaborate harness it was wearing. As the hobgoblin did, a yellowish liquid surged through a network of tubes fastened to the harness, and from there into its skin; all of which set the creature into a raging haste before it charged on ahead into Jung-Won and the others.
The battle was brutal, but the party evnetually came out on top. In the aftermath, as they looted the workshop, they found a number of tools and trinkets of goblin make. Pistols, grenades, and clear proof that these goblins had to all be members of the Venture Co. Looks like it had only been a matter of time before the party encountered their ilk again, since Vishaz Deadbomb had attempted to strip-mine Mulgore.
Also among the goblins' possessions was a book of instructions, which led them to a hidden room back in the corridor with the faceless statues, and from there to a set of controls that seemed both ancient and impossibly advanced. Were parts of this ancient complex of Titan make? It looked like the goblins had been doing all in their might to bring the place back into order, and understand the bizarre intricacies of how this strange control room worked.
And with a little light reading and some careful prodding, the party managed to find a way to open up the doors further on ahead. When the party made their way there, and found the doors wide open, a split in the road awaited them ahead. Another great staircase further down to another pair of sealed doors, behind which the sound of the anvils rang even louder, as well as a staircase up to the left that looked to lead off to somewhere else in the complex.
And immediately to the right, a long row of dense doors in an otherwise featureless hallway. As the party explored this way, they heard an orcish voice call out to them from behind one of the doors. Holding cells, the whole lot of them, and in a few of the cells were a small handful of orcs taken prisoners by the cultists.
The orcs introduced themselves to the party as Drondar, Ulthok, and Karsha. There had also been a fourth among them, Taszi, who had taken up an offer from the Twilight's Hammer to join their illustrious, elemental-worshipping order in exchange for freedom. These orcs were all from the Horde garrison at Sun Rock Retreat, and they had been taken captive out in the valley nearby while were out exploring at the order of Unknown.
None of the three orcs rescued were expecting anyone to come for them, so their gratitude toward the party could not be understated. They were all too exhausted and ill-equipped to fight, however, and so the party opted to help them scrounge some equipment from the cultusts they had already slain before helping them back up to the surface again. Though they wouldn't be much help against cultists, surviving the journey back to Sun Rock Retreat they reckoned they could manage -- and if not, Shadewind Spire was close by and now a safe place to stop after the party had vanquished the order there.