Dungeons and Dragons #5

Story: The Dwarves of Ironclad

Notes: The characters in this story are the same as some from the second D&D Flash article: “Gnomes are Your Best Defense.”  The encounters and quotes in this portion of the story may have or may not have been modified from the original account.  You may see these characters later in other short excerpts, but it may not continue where it left off.

After the dwarf fighter saw the familiar landscape through the portal, he jumped into it and found himself at his old home. After being driven away by his own people one hundred years ago, he finally had returned to Ironclad, a dwarven fortress which had double-doors made of pure iron that were each twenty feet long. After the fighter came the aasimar, then the sorcerer, then the druid, then the ranger.  After they all jumped through, the portal closed. They met a cleric- a magic warrior which served deities of the worlds- and a bard who were heading to Ironclad.

From a distance they could hear a loud hammering of catapults uselessly barraging the impenetrable doors. The party could also hear the hearty laughter of one of the dwarven officers protecting the wall. Seeing the vast army that was in front of the gate, the party charged to join the battle. The aasimar and the dwarf activated their magic swords, making their blades turn into pure light. The sorcerer summoned his Mantle of Flames, arming him with the powers of the Phoenix. The ranger readied his bow and headed towards the mountainside. The cleric, the bard, and the druid all charged behind their companions.

Upon seeing the flash of light from the aasimar’s sword, the enemy attacking Ironclad sent a wave of cavalry at the party.  The sorcerer sent shot after shot of flaming magic at them while the aasimar and dwarf cut down others with their sun blades. The ranger, from part way up the mountainside, shot down and eliminated the enemy from right off their horses. The others sent magic and enemies flying every which way. Within less than five minutes, the cavaliers were destroyed. Upon seeing this, the dwarves opened their iron gates and stormed out, driving the enemy back, forcing them to forsake their encampment, and even firing on them with some of their own catapults which they had already abandoned.

The party walked up to the dwarves which were now turning around to return to Ironclad.  Those which saw their outcast brother either looked at him with unhappy faces, or they simply were too excited about the awaiting feast to even care. Some dwarves did come up to him, the leaders of the Ironclad. The leader carried with him an iron drinking horn even larger than himself, and his black beard almost touched the ground. He nodded to the dwarf fighter.

“It has been a long time since you have returned,” he said.

“Indeed, I am back,” he responded. “I have come back to Ironclad in search of a certain artifact, one that anchors this world into being. I have come to see that it is protected from those who wish to release chaos over the worlds.” The dwarf leader stared at him, an expression of slight concern on his face.

They all went together into Ironclad, where the dwarves had cut into the iron mountain and into its center where they built their dwellings around the huge iron nugget in the center of their home. The dwarf leader explained to them: “We have heard that our miners came upon a shaft in the mountain that was like obsidian and not iron like the rest of the mountain. It led into a big cavernous room that we dared not to explore. Fear seems to dwell in there, trying to crawl its way out. So we have left it alone, but have left it guarded. Let me take you there.” The party followed him deep into the mountain’s iron mines, searching to find and defend one of the anchors of the worlds. But the real fight was yet to come.

-The End of this part of the story

(The conclusion of this story will be written as soon as time permits.)