Having made it back to the throne room in the mine/dwelling that was established by the dwarven merchant Kavalar Coppernight, also known as Coppernight Hold, the party finds a distinct lack of a dragon's corpse. It quickly becomes obvious that it had been hauled off towards the south wall, disappearing into a hidden exit.
The Best Laid Plans
Searching the throne, Nith finds secret levers that may upon the secret passage. Upon searching for traps and sensing for magic, attention is drawn to a series of holes on the wall behind the throne. At first suspicious, most of the party attempts to figure out what the holes could be used for, eventually deducing that they are part of a magical and mechanical system used to communicate underground. Once activated they make contact with Coppernight, and learn that the dragon was actually serving a band of deurgar, which had caught the hold off guard and forced them to retreat deep into the mine.
There is a desperation in his voice, as they have been without food and water for a couple of days now, and by their estimation they will be running out of air in a few hours. He is delighted to hear the party comes on behalf of the merchant Ironhews, and encourages them to make hast.
In their retreat they were able to trap various barricades set up to keep the enemy from following them. Now that the communication system is working, Coppernight and the survivors will be able to activate the traps upon hearing the party holler, "now". He warned they should stay at least 15 feet from the barricade when it goes off.
Hequern’s Rescue
In addition to the traps, Coppernight explains the mechanism for opening the secret passage, a simple level hidden on the wall. The party moves forward, deeper into the mine until they reach iron doors. Listening carefully, Kaln is able to make out splashing sounds and muffled gasps. Charging forward into action, the party find a trio of deurgar torturing a poor soul, having tied them up and dropped them in a pit of water, and nonchalantly pouring in acid from above. Joined by two giant ants that were apparently trained, a battle ensues.
Fortunately for Hequern, the dwarf being tortured, Therai was able to quickly navigate the battlefield to the pit, and with Nith's help, were able to retrieve her from he would be grave. A somewhat difficult battle unfolds, as the party has never dealt with such creatures, and were unaware of their devilish tactics, combining acid and poison to weaken their foes.
In the end, however, the party prevailed. Having dispatched the last deurgar, the party rests up and attend to Hequern's wounds. Hopefully they will be able to gain information that will help them in rescuing the trapped dwarves...