Halfdan tells you, 'The bounty of Hammer's Rest be yours, friend! Halfdan of Clan Sundershield am I. May I know how you are called?
Well met, RamTi, and be welcome to Aughundell. If you’re a tinkerer, Durgan is selling some schematics that might be of interest to you. If you seek food and drink, speak with the keeper of kegs and shepherd of sausages, my associate Granite-skull here.'
'How came he to wear such a name? Ah, well, that's simple enough, I suppose. It involved a great deal of ale, a young lady, and a game called 'Catch Sigrun's Warhammer and Win a Date'. He caught it alright - just not with his hands! He refused to let us take him to the infirmary until Sigrun agreed that he'd won the date. The two of them might have gotten betrothed, had Granite-skull not taken a spear through the lung in the last battle of the siege. He was still in the infirmary when King Dralnok took every member of the Iron Guard who was still fit for combat - including Sigrun - and headed out after the undead army'
'You see, King Dralnok was convinced that the time was right for a counterattack. He and the Iron Guard pursued the retreating undead into the hills north of Harro and never returned. Their last message indicated that they were near Delgarath, a small mining outpost between Harro and Morning Light, and that was the last anyone ever heard from them. Search after search failed to find any sign of them and to this day no one knows for sure what their fate was.'
'Oh, stories and theories abound, of course. After so many years, it's hard not to think that they were killed or captured. If they had been, though, we would have seen them by now, in the enemy ranks. As for myself, I'm one of those who believes King Dralnok is still alive and still fighting out there somewhere, and that he and the rest of the Iron Guard will return one day to defend Aughundell in its darkest hour '
'What could be darker than the 3rd Siege? I'm near-afraid to find out, if you want the honest truth. Sometimes I can scarce believe that we held out all those years. But we did, and I'll tell you why: it was the will and hand of Brobbet alone that sustained us. Whenever it seemed that our food was exhausted, somehow we always found more. The deep mountain springs began to dry up, but the reservoir stayed full. The undead plugged the primary clean air intakes, and a tertiary backup system that's not on the original plans kicks in. The undead broke through the city walls and spent fifteen years trying to break down the Gate Defiant, or tunnel around it. They failed. The mountain held. The Gate Defiant held. We dwarves are mighty builders, but this was something more. It was a miracle'
'Aye, I know, there's few these days that take such talk seriously. Nor is it my place to convince anyone otherwise. I'm just an old soldier who's seen a few too many years and had a few too many blows to the helm. You should go and enjoy the festival. Axe high, friend.'
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This draggy sat there listening to the old dwarf telling his tale.
He remembered stories told by the guild elder Nalrach telling him about the town that was taken over by the undead south of ML ((pre-merge)) and the deep pit in middle of the town. Could the drawf and Nalrach talking about the same. From his travel he also remembers the big battle field south of ML ... a siege, could that be the place. But the "defiant gate" and mining outpost? The closest mine he remeber are the one in Mythril Anvil, but that certainly too far. Could the gate be in the deadland east of Harrow. and what about the guard chasing the undead in the hills.
This got the dragon curious and .....
First he needed to talk to the city guard and the city captain.