The Drow War Book Two. The Dying Of - RoseRed

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The Dwarves: The dwarves are amazed that anyone
has come. The fight has all but gone out of them,
but the sight of the Player Characters assaulting their
tormentors (assuming this is what they do) revives their
spirits. They help the Player Characters in any way they
can, though without magical healing they are too weak
to do more than give directions and information. They
can tell the Player Characters the following:
• Drozen Vellish has gone down into the mine with
his lieutenants to deal with the latest slave revolt.
He seemed furious.
• The drow want iron. They seem desperate for it.
This used to be a dwarf mine and smelter complex,
but it was abandoned when the lower levels were
found to be full of poison gas.
• So as to get as much work out of the slaves as possible
before they die, the drow are using a rotation system.
There are four work gangs in total. Every day, one
gang works the smelter while the others work the
mines. This gives the smelter gang a chance to clear
their lungs and breathe clean air.
• The upper levels of the mine are all but exhausted
of iron ore. The lower levels still have plenty left
but the tunnels are filled with toxic vapours. The
dwarves can handle the backbreaking work and they
are more resilient to poison than most, but even they
have their limits.
• The drow seem reluctant to kill the slaves. They
treat them cruelly, but so far have only killed a few,
apparently as examples to the rest. All the other
dwarves who have died have been victims of the
gas.
• Most of the slaves here were warriors who were
helping to defend the temple of Thunor in Crom
Calamar on the day the drow invaded. The priest,
Corbin Eosker, betrayed them.
Slaves, Dwarf War6 (15): CR 5; Medium humanoid
(dwarf); HD 6d8-6; hp 21; Init +0; Spd 20 ft; AC 10,
touch 10, flat-footed 10; Base Atk +6; Grp +5; Atk +5
melee (1d3–1 nonlethal, unarmed strike) or +6 ranged
(1d3–1, rock); Full Atk +5/+0 melee (1d3–1 nonlethal,
unarmed strike) or +6 ranged (1d3–1, rock); SA dwarf
traits; SQ darkvision 60 ft., dwarf traits; AL LG; SV
Fort +4, Ref +2, Will +1; Str 8, Dex 11, Con 8, Int 10,
Wis 9, Cha 6.
Skills & Feats: Appraise +3, Craft (blacksmithing)
+3, Craft (stonemasonry) +4; Cleave, Power Attack,
Weapon Focus (dwarven waraxe).
14. Little Ease
This cell is the size of a small cupboard. The drow have
rigged it with chains so that a person bound here can
neither sit nor stand. There is a single dwarf bound
here, his body quivering with agony.
This slave is Bombas Groke, the dwarf responsible for
leading his group of slaves against the drow. His special
part in the riot has gained him this extra punishment.
Note: Groke’s statistics are identical to those of the
slaves in Area 13.
15. Battle in the Tunnels
The sound of yelling voices rages through the tunnels.
Drow soldiers shout shrilly to one another and dwarf
voices boom back insults in response. You can see
barricades made from upended ore baskets, chunks of
rock, partly collapsed ceilings and other refuse partly
blocking up the tunnels. A group of around a dozen
drow is gathered in the centre of the cavern, firing off
shots from their crossbows at the dwarven heads that
occasionally appear over the barricades.
Any character who makes a Sense Motive check (DC
15) realises that the dwarves are making much more
noise than seems entirely necessary.
The Dwarf Revolt: The dwarf slaves know that they
are outnumbered and have no weapons other than their
mining picks. Many of them are dying from the poison
gases. However, they also know that the drow want to
keep them alive if they can, because the mine has to
be kept producing iron. So, they have taken some of
the drow guards prisoner and are trying to ‘negotiate’
with the rest for as long as they can, demanding better
treatment, more wholesome food and the occasional
neutralise poison from the priestesses.
This is all an attempt to buy time and keep the drow
out of the lower levels while the dwarves put their plan
into practice. The negotiation is just a front and the
skirmishes are intended to keep the drow busy and
provide background noise. The real plan is to tunnel out
of the mines. It will be the hardest work these dwarves
have ever done, but they are willing to try it. The drow
have not thought for a moment that the dwarves might
try something as crazy as digging a new tunnel out. The
dwarves know that this strategy will only get a few of
Ibon Presno Gonzalez (order #73006) 8